VIDEO SHOWS: SENEGAL TRAINING AHEAD OF THEIR CLASH WITH EGYPT IN THE AFCON SEMIFINALS FULL SCRIPT TO FOLLOW SHOWS: TANGIER, MOROCCO (JANUARY 13, 2026) (STATS PERFORM – Access all) STORY: Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said that Egypt is accustomed to playing in big matches at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), emphasizing his respect for the Egyptian national team despite having defeated them in the continental final nearly four years ago. Senegal will face Egypt in the semi-finals of the continental tournament on Wednesday (January 14), in a rematch of the 2021 final, which Egypt lost on penalties. Senegal's dominance over Egypt continued, as they also defeated them in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, again on penalties, nearly two months after winning the continental title in Cameroon. Thiaw told a press conference on Tuesday (January 13), "We'll be facing a seven-star Egyptian team. I think they're the best team in Africa." Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly agreed with his coach that Egypt has experience in these matches, refusing to consider his country the favourite despite their past success and also criticised the decision by Africa's governing body to host AFCON every four years instead of every two. Egypt have won the tournament a record seven times, but they start as underdogs for the semi-final against Senegal in Tangiers. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan hailed the quality on display at the Africa Cup of Nations as his side readied to play in Wednesday’s semi-final, saying the month-long event in Morocco is "fiercely competitive”. The 59-year-old former striker should know better than most, winning three tournaments as a player and making the last of his seven tournament appearances at the age of 39. He is now coaching at the event for the first time, taking Egypt to the last four as they search for their first title since 2010 and told reporter he is looking forward to the battle between Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)
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