Mali defeated
©IMAGO
This article first appeared on January 9th at 7:32 p.m. and was adjusted after the second game.
Even without Bayern striker Nicolas Jackson, Senegal reached the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. In the first quarter-final of the tournament, the 2022 title holder won 1-0 (1-0) against Mali. Iliman Ndiaye from English first division football team FC Everton scored the winning goal in Tangier, Morocco, in the 27th minute. He benefited from a mistake by goalkeeper Djigui Diarra. Lamine Camara missed a clearer success, failing to hit the post in the final phase. Jackson sat on the bench for over 90 minutes, ex-Munich player Sadio Mané played through.
As in the previous two games, Mali was sent off in the duel with Senegal. Captain Yves Bissouma was shown a yellow-red card shortly before the break after repeated foul play. In addition, former Leipzig player Amadou Haidara had to leave the field injured (55th). These setbacks could not be compensated for. In the semi-finals, Senegal, which is the most valuable team after Morocco with a squad value of 406 million euros, will face the winner of the game between Egypt and Ivory Coast, which will be played on Saturday evening.
Morocco follows Senegal into the semi-finals
Host Morocco made it to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations to great cheers from their home fans. Coach Walid Regragui’s team won comfortably 2-0 (1-0) against Cameroon in Rabat. Brahim Díaz from Real Madrid scored the lead for the 2022 World Cup fourth-placed team in the 27th minute. Ismael Saibari completed the victory with his goal in the 75th minute.
For Díaz it was already the fifth goal in the fifth game. After a header from Ayoub El Kaabi, the Real attacker directed the ball into the goal with his thigh. The team from Cameroon with Leverkusen’s Christian Kofane didn’t get into the game at all in the first 45 minutes and hardly created any chances to score. The Moroccans around PSG star and ex-Dortmunder Achraf Hakimi were also the dominant team in the second half. Abde Ezzalzouli (61st) and Saibari (62nd) narrowly failed. A quarter of an hour before the end of the game, Saibari scored the celebrated goal to make the final score 2-0.