The Senegal national team secured its qualification for the World Cup finals after defeating their Egyptian counterparts in a penalty shootout 3-1 at the Abdoulay Wade Stadium in Diamniadio. The match ended in regular time with Senegal winning by a single goal, matching the same score by which Egypt won in the first leg. Concurrently, a match between African giants Nigeria and Ghana ended in a 1-1 draw, allowing the Ghanaian Black Stars to qualify based on the away goals rule after their first leg in Accra ended goalless.
At the Abdoulay Wade Stadium, Senegal claimed their ticket to the World Cup in Qatar after a penalty shootout victory against Egypt, with the match ending in regular and extra time with Senegal ahead 1-0. This was the same result that Egypt had achieved in the first leg in Cairo. The atmosphere was tense even before the match started, as Senegalese fans directed laser beams at the faces of Egyptian players, and their chants drowned out the Egyptian national anthem.
Senegal began strongly, applying pressure on Egypt from the outset. They earned a direct free-kick on the right side of the penalty area which Gueye delivered into the box, poorly cleared by the Egyptian defense and fell to Senegalese striker Boulaye Dia, who scored in the fourth minute, quickly compensating for their previous defeat in Cairo.
The Teranga Lions continued their assault on the Egyptian goal, particularly from the wings. The pressure from the stands remained palpable, with fans throwing water bottles onto the pitch, hitting the Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy in the twelfth minute. Egypt's first chance came in the 14th minute when Mohamed Elneny shot a tricky ball from outside the penalty area but it sailed over the crossbar.
In the 27th minute, Egyptian defender Omar Gaber was injured after a clash with Senegal's Sadio Mane and had to be replaced by Ayman Ashraf. Shortly after, Gueye unleashed a powerful shot from distance, which El-Shenawy superbly saved. Senegal maintained a relentless pace, creating issues for Egypt through continuous challenges and injuries.
In the 32nd minute, El-Shenawy saved Senegal from a shot by Ismaïla Sarr at the edge of the box. In the 37th minute, Senegal's players penetrated the Egyptian defense creating a fantastic opportunity to extend their lead but ultimately missed the target. Ismaïla Sarr made a quick break into the Egyptian zone in the 45th minute and crossed towards Dia, but the Egyptian defense intervened strongly, clearing it for a corner that produced no result. The first half ended with Senegal leading 1-0.
As the second half began, Egypt nearly equalized following a dangerous organized attack that just passed by safely, leading to tension after one of the Egyptian players fell on the pitch, claiming a red card against a Senegalese player. However, Algerian referee Mustafa Ghorbal, who managed the game decisively, saw no foul deserving of a red card.
In the 54th minute, Ismaïla Sarr almost broke free on goal, but the Egyptian defense effectively stopped him, leading to a call for a penalty from Sarr’s teammates which the referee did not grant. The nerves continued to fray with a series of disputes among players, yet the referee kept control of the match.
In the 65th minute, Senegal earned a very dangerous direct free kick at the edge of the box, taken by Gueye but lifted just over the bar. Egyptian coach Carlos Queiroz made three substitutions in the 70th minute, leading to a great opportunity for Zizou just a minute later from close range, but he shot wide of the goal. Zizou had another chance in the 75th minute, advancing on the right side of the Senegalese goal, but again failed to score.
The Black Stars of Senegal had a golden opportunity in the 82nd minute when Sarr broke the offside trap, receiving a brilliant pass behind the Egyptian defense, only to shoot wide of the goal. Tension persisted in the stands and the bench, with Senegalese coach Aliou Cissé receiving a yellow card in the 85th minute for protesting a referee's decision.
With the match ending in regulation time with a score of 1-0 in favor of Senegal, both teams proceeded to extra time. In the first extra period, Senegal had consecutive chances in minutes 93 and 94, yet El-Shenawy shined once again, denying them the opportunity. The Egyptian goalkeeper also saved from a very dangerous shot by Ismaïla Sarr in the 103rd minute.
In the 107th minute, substitute Papa Gaye found himself in a good shooting position but his long-range attempt went comfortably wide of the post. Another chance arose for Senegal in the 111th minute from a cleverly taken direct free kick, but it went high and missed the target. Yet again, Amadou Dieng's shot from outside the box in the 114th minute drifted left of the Egyptian goal without troubling the net. In the 116th minute, Egyptian player Hamdi Fathi succumbed to fatigue, requiring a substitution for Mohamed Alaa.
The Egyptian players held on until Algerian referee's final whistle propelled both teams to penalty shootouts, less than two months after the Lions had defeated the Pharaohs also on penalties in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Kalidou Koulibaly squandered Senegal’s first penalty, hitting the bar, followed by Mohamed Salah, who shot over the goal. El-Shenawy continued his heroics by saving the second Senegalese penalty, but Zizou failed to capitalize and shot wide. Ismaïla Sarr converted Senegal's third penalty, as did Amr El-Soulia for Egypt. Amadou Dieng scored the fourth for Senegal with power, but Senegal's goalkeeper Edouard Mendy saved Mustafa Mohamed's kick, allowing Sadio Mane to score the final, decisive penalty for Senegal, clinching their spot in the World Cup.
# Black Stars Overcome Super Eagles
In the second match at the same time between Africa's other giants, Nigeria and Ghana, held in Abuja, the visitors managed to earn a 1-1 draw against the hosts, snatching a qualification spot thanks to the away goals rule after the first leg in Accra ended goalless.
The Ghanaian Black Stars opened the scoring in the 10th minute through Thomas Partey. The referee awarded a controversial penalty to Nigeria after reviewing video footage, which William Troost-Ekong converted into a goal in the 22nd minute. Again, the VAR intervened, this time to save Ghana from trailing, as it disallowed a goal from Nigerian Victor Osimhen, who had advanced with the ball from the mid-field and scored in the 37th minute, but the replay showed he was offside, leaving the score level at 1-1 by halftime.
In the second half, Nigeria exerted intense pressure to score a second goal and grab the World Cup qualification, notably through Osimhen, who had several chances and shot multiple times at the goal, yet to no avail. The match ended with a 1-1 draw, resulting in the qualification of the Black Stars for the World Cup finals in Qatar.
