AFCON Quarterfinal: Egypt Beat Ivory Coast 3-2 As Salah Proves Decisive

Mohamed Salah delivered the decisive moment as Egypt edged Africa Cup of Nations holders Ivory Coast 3-2, booking a semi-final clash with Senegal after surviving a tense late push from the defending champions, who mounted two comebacks but could not force extra time.

The win extended Egypt’s run of success at this stage of the competition, with the Pharaohs now victorious in six consecutive AFCON quarter-finals, while Salah’s strike strengthened a recent scoring surge that has seen the captain become even more central in knockout games.

Egypt struck first after just four minutes, pressing in midfield to win the ball before Emam Ashour slipped a precise pass into the path of Omar Marmoush, who held position on the edge of the area and drove a firm

low shot beyond Yahia Fofana’s reach.

The advantage doubled on 32 minutes from a set piece, when Rami Rabia met Salah’s corner from the right flank and guided a header back across goal, the ball bouncing inside the near post to put Ivory Coast under serious pressure before half-time.

Ivory Coast halved the deficit eight minutes later from a dead-ball situation of their own, as a free-kick delivery caused confusion and Ahmed Abou El Fotouh, attempting to clear under pressure, diverted the ball past Mohamed El Shenawy for an unfortunate own goal.

Seven minutes into the second half, Salah restored the two-goal cushion, darting ahead of a defender to meet an Ashour cross and steering a first-time finish past Fofana, though Ivory Coast responded again when Egypt failed to clear an Amad Diallo corner.

El Shenawy initially denied Ibrahim Sangare’s close-range header from that corner, but the holders capitalised on the rebound as Doue reacted fastest to flick the loose ball over the line, setting up a tense finale in which Ivory Coast pressed hard but created no leveller.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED #ThePharaohs march on to the final four #egyptnt pic.twitter.com/4PZPlOvsFPEgypt National Team (@EgyptNT_EN) January 10, 2026

Mohamed Salah and Egypt vs Ivory Coast: AFCON quarter-finals data debrief

Salah’s goal continues a strong AFCON run, with five goals across the last six tournament matches, surpassing the total from the previous 12 appearances, and also contributing a joint-high two chances created in a contest where Egypt relied on clinical finishing.

Egypt produced six shots worth 0.81 expected goals (xG), with Salah’s effort accounting for 0.33 xG, while Ivory Coast generated more pressure numerically, recording 13 attempts and 1.42 xG, yet still falling short of the semi-finals for the fifth time in seven AFCON campaigns.

Team	Goals	Shots	Expected Goals (xG)
Egypt	3	6	0.81
Ivory Coast	2	13	1.42

Ivory Coast’s exit means the holders’ only successful runs to the last four in their previous seven AFCON appearances remain the two title-winning tournaments, while Egypt progress with momentum and another influential display from Salah ahead of the semi-final against Senegal.