Dakar, March 30 (BNA) Sadio Mane guaranteed Senegal’s World Cup victory over Egypt on penalties after Mohamed Salah was targeted with laser machines on Tuesday, as he stepped up to take his team’s first kick in a penalty shootout.
Mane kicked the winning penalty kick to seal a 3-1 penalty shootout win at Senegal’s new Abdoulaye Wade Stadium after the play-off ended 1-1 on aggregate, The Associated Press reported.
Senegal’s victory was a repeat of last month’s Africa Cup of Nations final when Mane clinched his country’s first major title by scoring the winning penalty shootout in a penalty shootout against the Egyptians.
Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia and Cameroon also qualified for Qatar and will join Senegal to form the five African teams in the World Cup.
While Mane has now celebrated an African championship and a World Cup place in quick succession, there was more pain for his Liverpool teammate Salah, Egypt’s captain.
After Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly hit the crossbar with his first penalty shootout, Salah fired his attempt over the crossbar as he flashed green laser pointers to his face and body, presumably by Senegalese fans who tried to distract him.
The entire game featured those lasers constantly shining on Egypt players. Senegal’s players also faced the same problem in the first leg in Cairo last week.
Salah did not have the opportunity to take the penalty shootout in the African Cup final as it was determined before it reached him. Going first wasn’t better for him this time around and Egypt missed three of the four penalties in Senegal.
Senegal also missed the first two goals, but Ismail Sarr and Bamba Deng scored a goal, giving Mane an opportunity to secure a place in the World Cup in Qatar with the fifth penalty kick for Senegal. He looked at the referee and pointed his thumb up and then smashed it in the middle in front of about 50,000 fans.
The return leg ended 1-0 for Senegal after extra time thanks to an early goal from close range by Boulay Deya. That left it 1-1 on aggregate after Egypt’s narrow win in the first leg, when Salah played a key role in giving his side the lead.
It is the third time Senegal has qualified for the World Cup, and the first time they have reached back-to-back tournaments after they also reached Russia in 2018. Prior to that, Senegal’s only appearance was in 2002, when it came as a surprise. Running to the quarter-finals on his debut.
Also Tuesday, Cameroon scored a stunning 2-1 victory in Algeria after extra time to finish 2-2 on aggregate and advance on the away goals rule.
Cameroon, who trailed 1-0 from their first leg at home, scored an early goal to equalize it. But Ahmed Touba’s header from a corner two minutes before the end of extra time seemed to guarantee a dramatic qualification for Algeria.
Cameroon fired a free kick against Algeria in the fourth minute of stoppage time at the end of extra time, and Karl Toko Ekambi continued with a low shot to qualify Cameroon for the World Cup.
Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi bent on his knees and covered his face with his hands and remained like this for a few minutes while officials tried to console him. It was another severe blow to Algeria after they were knocked out of the African Cup in the group stage two months ago to end the defense of their title.
Ghana earlier became the first African team to qualify for this year’s World Cup with a 1-1 draw in Nigeria in the second leg, taking the lead on goal difference away from home after the first leg in Ghana ended 0-0.
Thomas Partey scored the decisive goal for Ghana in the tenth minute in Abuja. William Trost-Ekong equalized for Nigeria with a penalty kick in the 22nd minute, but Nigeria could not take advantage of their home advantage to win.
Ghana will return to the World Cup after missing the 2018 edition. Angry Nigerian fans eventually threw plastic bottles and other objects and then stormed the stadium, forcing Ghana’s players to scramble for safety under a tunnel as police fired tear gas into the stadium.
Morocco beat Congo 4-1 by winning 5-2 on aggregate. Tunisia was happy with a 0-0 draw at home against Mali to qualify for the World Cup with a 1-0 win on aggregate. Mali was denied a debut in the Marquee Football Tournament.