AFCON 2021: Resilient Egypt come from behind to beat Morocco

Egypt had the last laugh on Sunday after they came from behind to beat Morocco 2-1 in the quarterfinal of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

In the thrilling encounter, Aston Villa forward Trezeguet’s extra-time goal sent Egypt through to the AFCON semi-finals, with his winner earning a 2-1 victory over Morocco.

Egypt and Morocco met in the last-16 with Premier League superstar Mo Salah appearing to give his side the edge, but it was Soufiane Boufal – once a player for Southampton – who scored first when Achraf Hakimi was felled in the box by Ayman Ashraf after three minutes.

It took several minutes for the referee to review VAR and then for the penalty to go ahead, but once in the lead, they were untroubled in the first half by an Egyptian XI who struggled to break down Morocco’s defense, despite the expertise of the manager Carlos Queiroz.

In the second half, Salah grabbed an equaliser from a defensive scramble in the box following a corner, but neither side could find a winner within regulation time.

Salah was at the heart of Egypt’s winner when he feinted past his marker down the wing before teeing up Trezeguet for a goal on 100 minutes, taking the seven-time winners into the semis.