Coach Vahid Halilhodžić, one of the highest paid tacticians at the tournament is under pressure to deliver the title for the demanding Moroccans and a win against Egypt will be crucial in his quest.
The North African derby pitting Egypt and neighbors Morocco in the quarter finals of the Africa Cup of Nations will provide a closely contested spectacle on Sunday night with The Pharaohs and the Atlas Lions renewing their old age rivalry.
Egypt started the tournament slow but have grown in stature. Their performance against Ivory Coast in the round of 16 offered encouragement and they showed they can be a contender for the title.
Mo Salah’s hunger to win a trophy with Egypt will further fire them up and with only three games standing between them and a record extending eighth AFCON title, they will be going all in or nothing.
Morocco on the other hand had to cling on to a hard fighting mentality to down a resilient Malawi side 2-1 in the round of 16.
Coach Vahid Halilhodžić, one of the highest paid tacticians at the tournament is under pressure to deliver the title for the demanding Moroccans and a win against Egypt will be crucial in his quest.
The Atlas Lions have not won the tournament in four decades. Their last victory was in 1976.
Meanwhile, Senegal are seeking to inch into another semi-final as they buld on towards a dream first ever AFCON title.
Senegal, the Africa Cup of Nations 2019 losing finalists have been far from convincing despite limping their way to the last eight of the delayed 2021 showpiece.
A single 1-0 win and back to back 0-0 draws in the group stages earned them a place in the round of 16 where they beat Cape Verde 2-0, the latter having to play with nine men after two red cards.
They have been boosted with midfielder Ismaila Sarr back to full training and they hope his return will inspire a better scoring return. Sarr will most definitely lift the weight off Sadio Mane. The LIverpool forward who left the Cape Verde match just after scoring following a concussion is expected to be passed fit for the game.
Meanwhile, Equatorial Guinea have made the quarters for only the second time in their history. The last time they did so was in 2015 when they co-hosted the tourney.
They have been the tournament’s surprise package and will definitely not be an easy opponent for the Lions of Teranga.