In Sunday’s final, Africa’s two finest players will face off, but before the marketing staff for this event gets too excited about a match between Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, it’s better to expect a slow burner. Egypt is enthralled by them, as proven by the fact that it has done so in the past. They battled through a number of scares in the first half against Cameroon, who were energetic but blunt, and then pushed the game to its maximum. When penalties approached, it seemed like everyone, except the raucous 900 fans who had come in from Cairo, may as well head home: Egypt just does not lose penalties and, for the sixth time in a row, kept their cool while others wilted.
Salah was not even obliged to take the decisive kick, as he had done against Ivory Coast in the round of 16, because Cameroon had previously missed three. Harold Moukoudi’s straight run-up and James Léa Siliki’s short run-up both looked bad, while Mohamed Abou Gabal saved two weak attempts. Clinton N’Jie missed the last penalty, but Egypt had stayed in there and capitalized from their opponents’ mistakes, avenging their setback in the 2017 Cup of Nations final.
If they want to overcome Senegal in open play, they’ll have to play Salah more actively. He was given thin gruel in a team that was all too often nasty. Martin Hongla gave him his sole chance early in the second half, with a quick back ball that put him up against André Onana. As Salah attempted to run around him, the home keeper dashed out of his area and successfully stretched out a foot to intercept. Salah was limited to two errant long-range efforts; the fact that Egypt cares little about keeping the ball in play for long amounts of time does not help anybody promote their talent, save for those who get things done by the ugliest methods.