Stadium Roar: Senegal Snatches AFCON Semi-Final as Tangier’s Crowd Turns into Dakar on Game Night
15 January 2026
Match backdrop
Haitham Farouk, a former Egypt international, says the crowd’s energy helped Senegal edge Egypt in the AFCON 2025 semi-final now underway in Morocco.
The Pharaohs were defeated 1-0 by Senegal on Wednesday at Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier, in the tournament’s semi-final stage.
Speaking to BeIN Sports, Farouk noted that the stands seemed to cheer Senegal as if the match were in Dakar, not Tangier, while also acknowledging that Moroccan fans had plenty to focus on with Atlas Lions vs Nigeria and a large Senegalese diaspora in the country.
On the stands and on the pitch
Farouk added that only about 10% of the spectators were Egyptian, with the rest coming from Senegal.
Regarding how the match unfolded, he mentioned that Hosam Hassan lined up Senegal in a similar XI to their Ivory Coast clash, but the scenario differed: against Ivory Coast, an early goal pushed the opponents out of their comfort zone and created space for counters; against Senegal, those gaps didn’t appear.
He also said the Pharaohs did not attack with intensity until after Sadio Mané’s goal.
For Hassan, a good performance means a tactically sound game with high quality and discipline.
On whether a higher work rate by Egyptian players caused fatigue, Farouk argued it wasn’t the main factor; Senegal’s quality — with players at major European clubs — made the difference, while Egypt had two midfielders who don’t play regularly at club level.
Egypt will meet Nigeria in two days at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca for the bronze medal match.
The final is scheduled for Sunday, with Morocco facing Senegal at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
Punchline 1: If the stands had a referee, they’d call a timeout just to shout, “More popcorn, please!”
Punchline 2: In football, when the crowd’s louder than the commentary, you know the drama’s paid for in applause and memes.
