AFCON 2021: Egypt 2-1 Morocco Player Ratings

The Pharaohs of Egypt defeated Morocco 2-1 in the third quarterfinal fixture of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde on Sunday evening.

Egypt orchestrated a come-from-behind win over the Atlas Lions of Morocco with Mohamed Salah grabbing a goal and an assist to cancel out Sofiane Boufal's 7th-minute opener.

Morocco played a game of two halves with Vahid Halilhodzic's men dominant in the first half but surrendering the initiative to Carlos Queiroz's side in the second half.

Ahmed Hegazy's first-half injury was a blessing in disguise for the seven-time African champions with Queiroz's bold move to replace the centre-back with Aston Villa winger Trezeguet paying off. 

Trezeguet scored the winner in the 100th minute after making himself a nuisance to the Moroccan defence for most of the second half and extra time.

Achraf Hakimi put up another encouraging display in his attacking full-back role as did Roman Saiss in the centre of defence but both players could not help Morocco to their first semifinal appearance since 2004.

Here are the player ratings from the Egypt Vs Morocco quarterfinal fixture. 

Egypt Starting XI: Abougabal (96') - 6.5; Kamal - 6.5, Hegazy (46') - 6.0, Abdelmoneim - 6.5, El Fotouh - 6.5; Ashraf (81') - 7.0, Elneny - 7.0, Al Sulaya - 6.5; Salah (120') - 8.0, Mohamed (111') - 7.0, Marmoush (80') - 7.0

Substitutes: Trezeguet (46') - 7.5, Zizo (80') - 6.0, El-Din (81') - 5.5, Sobhy (96') - 6.5, Sobhi (111') - N/A, Hamdi (120') - N/A

Morocco Starting XI: Bounou - 6.5; Hakimi- 7.0, Saiss - 7.0, Aguerd - 6.5, Masina - 6.5; Amrabat - 6.5; Barkok (104') - 6.0, Amallah (86') - 5.5, El-Haddadi (110') - 5.5; Boufal (66') - 6.5, En-Nesyri (86') - 5.5

Substitutes: Rahimi (66') - 5.5, Louza (86') - 6.0, Mmaee (86'') - 5.0, Aboukhlal (104') - N/A, Tissoudali (110') - N/A