Sadio Mane scored the winning penalty in a shootout to send Senegal to the 2022 World Cup after Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah missed his spot-kick for Egypt.
In a repeat of February’s Africa Cup of Nations final, Senegal were left jubilant at the final whistle after winning on penalties, with Egypt’s players disconsolate and Salah – one of the world’s best players – left contemplating his absence from November’s tournament in Qatar.
The second leg of the play-off tie in Senegal’s new 50,000-seater stadium finished 1-0 to the hosts and 1-1 on aggregate after extra time, sending the game to a tense and dramatic shootout.
Mane had netted the penalty which won the Nations Cup and the Reds forward notched the decisive spot-kick once again after keeper Edouard Mendy had given Senegal an advantage by saving from Mostafa Mohamed at 2-1.
Egypt captain Salah was one of four players to miss the first four penalties of a shootout marked by a vast number of green laser pointers directed at the visiting players and goalkeeper.
Senegal’s Boulaye Dia was the scorer of the only goal in normal time – notching after just four minutes with a shot that hit the body of Pharaohs defender Hamdi Fathi.
Critical advantage
It is the second time in six weeks that Senegal have beaten Egypt on penalties to a major prize.
In February it was the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. There, too many Egypt misses meant that their goalscoring icon Salah did not even get the chance to take one.
This time around they made sure he went first – and with an eye to securing a crucial early advantage, following Senegal’s captain Kalidou Koulibaly having hit the bar with the first effort of the shoot-out.
But Salah could do no better – indeed he did worse, his shot going nowhere near Mendy’s goal as it drifted over the bar.
Neither Ciss nor Zizo could score either, and it seemed clear that the raft of laser pointers being directed at players from both sides – which had increased in intensity as the match drew to an end – were having an effect.
Ismaila Sarr did then net but that was matched by El Soleya, Seny Dieng then struck confidently to put the Teranga Lions ahead – but when Mohamed Mostafa attempted to reply for Egypt, Mendy saved well and gave Senegal a critical advantage.
It was one Mane took full advantage of.
That the game would end on penalties was not the obvious conclusion that the scoreline might suggest.
Dia’s early strike was a strange echo of the one that had given Egypt the advantage in the first leg in Cairo – in the same minute and also effectively an own goal.
Egypt failed to properly defend a dangerous Senegal free kick, with a headed goal-line clearance only making it as far as Dia. As Dia went to strike, Hamdi Fathi also went for the ball and in the melee it went under El Shenawy and into the Egypt goal.
In Senegal’s brand new home – which unlike most major African stadiums has no running track, and therefore created a more intense atmosphere – the roof nearly came off.
Egypt offered little throughout, sticking to a game plan of maintaining a tight defence and breaking down any Senegal attack with heavily contestable challenges, while making the most of any contact on themselves.
But Senegal had two great chances – both of which fell to Sarr – to win before things got as far as penalties.
The first was on 82 minutes when he was put clean through – but El Shenawy made himself big enough to make sure Sarr’s effort just drifted wide.
The second was even better – with the ball played into him with an open goal in front of him barley a metre out. But his connection was panicky and spun from his foot into the body of El Shenawy, who could hardly believe his luck.
Egypt had brought Zizo on at 70 minutes and he had at least perked the Pharaohs up, with a couple of mazy runs that drew some panicked clearances from Senegal. But generally Egypt played for the penalties, even though the presence of the laser pointers through the game could have suggested that it would be much more of a lottery than they usually are.
