Egypt defeated Senegal 1-0 in the first leg of their World Cup playoff, giving Egypt a slender lead heading to Dakar for the return leg on Tuesday.
Six weeks after Senegal beat Egypt on penalties to win their first Africa Cup of Nations title, Salah set up the only goal in the rematch between the two Liverpool legends. He beat the offside trap to get on the end of Amr El Sulaya’s ball over the top of the defense, hitting the bar before the rebound bounced off Senegal defender Saliou Ciss’s knee and into the net for a dream start after four minutes.
However, despite a capacity 75,000 crowd at the Cairo International Stadium, Senegal proved more enterprising and will remain confident of winning the tie on aggregate and qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar.
Ghana and Nigeria drew 0-0 in the first leg of their playoff in Kumasi, leaving the tie wide open when they meet again in Abuja on Tuesday to decide a place in the World Cup. The Jollof derby, named after a popular rice dish in both countries, failed to produce much spice and will have left fans unsatisfied after a slew of errors and poor decision-making marked the game.
Ghana had more possession and chances in the first leg, but their finishing was sloppy. They only tested goalkeeper Francis Uzoho twice, once from a stinging shot by Issahaku Fatawu in the 33rd minute and again from Mohammed Kudus in the 71st minute. Moses Simon had Nigeria’s best chance 10 minutes into the second half, but he squandered it.
Algeria’s Islam Slimani scored the game-winning goal in the first leg of their playoff against Cameroon in Douala, putting Algeria one step closer to a place in this year’s finals in Qatar.
The striker scored his eighth goal in the African qualifiers with a powerful header from a 40th-minute free-kick in a tense game at the Japoma Stadium.
Mali defender Moussa Sissako scored an own goal in the first half and was sent off four minutes later, ending his country’s hopes of reaching the finals for the first time as they were defeated 1-0 at home by Tunisia. Tarik Tissoudali scored minutes after coming on to earn Morocco a 1-1 tie away against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Kinshasa in the first leg of their playoff.
