An early own goal was enough to hand Egypt a 1-0 victory over Senegal in the first leg of their World Cup playoff.
The two games are considered a shootout between Liverpool stars Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane at a venue in Qatar later this year. The two countries met at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in February, when the four teams defeated Egypt on penalties after a draw.
In this event, however, it was Egypt who won, although more work is still needed next week on the return leg as it progresses slightly.
Saliou Ciss’s goal proved to be the only goal in the game as Pharaohs goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawi managed to shut out players such as Mane, Ismaila Sarr and Idrissa Gana Gueye.
Salah clashed with a lazy Senegal defender who defended and hit the post, the ball bounced off the net through a Ciss deflection.
Elsewhere in the final CAF qualifier, DR Congo and Morocco drew 1-1. Islam Slimani’s defeat was enough for Algeria to win 1-0 against Cameroon, while Tunisia beat Mali by the same result with a Moussa Sissako goal – the same player was sent off four minutes later.
Another hotly-contested match last night was Ghana and Nigeria, but the teams could not be split in Kumasi as the second leg match would be decided in Abuja.
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