Star strikers Mohamed Salah and Sebastien Haller go head-to-head at sombre Afcon

Egypt and Ivory Coast meet in Cameroon two days after deadly crush at Olembe Stadium

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah and midfielder Ramadan Sobhi at a training session at Japoma Stadium in Douala, Cameroon, on January 25, 2022 on the eve of their Africa Cup of Nations last-16 match against Ivory Coast. AFP

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah shares a laugh in training. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah and teammates attend a training session. AFP

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah controls the ball. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah controls the ball. AFP

Mohamed Salah passes the ball. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah attends a press conference at the Japoma Stadium in Douala. AFP

Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz and Mohamed Salah arrive at a press conference. AFP

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah arrives at a press conference at the Japoma Stadium. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah addresses the media at a press conference. AFP

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah. AFP

A sombre mood hung over the Africa Cup of Nations Tuesday, as the injured from the overcrowding at the Olembe Stadium during Cameroon’s match against Comoros were being treated in hospital and the number of fatalities reached eight. The tournament goes on, with some of the nations still involved recognising that scenes like those on Monday come to African arenas all too frequently.

In 2009, 19 lives were lost because of a stampede of spectators at a World Cup qualifier in Abidjan between Ivory Coast and Malawi, a tragedy remembered by members of the Ivorian delegation preparing for Wednesday’s last-16 tie in Douala.

The country the Ivorians will meet for a place in the quarter-finals, Egypt, is still coming to terms with the aftermath of the riot at Port Said of 2012, a horrific stadium disaster that left 74 dead and led to the suspension of their domestic league for two years.

Every Egyptian player of the current generation was affected by those events, and, a decade on, there remains a drive within the national team to lead the revival from that low point. The country and its football suffered in the years before and after Port Said.

Its best footballers were also pushed to find professional fulfilment abroad. Mohamed Salah — whose talent would have taken him sooner or later to the summit of the club game in Europe — left Al Mokawloon, where he was making a strong impression as a teenager, quicker than he might have if the local league had not gone into recess.

Salah made his Egypt debut in late 2011, when the Pharaohs were still holders of the Nations Cup, a title they had claimed for the third time in succession. The decline, post-2012, would be steep. In Salah, Egypt would find a lodestar for a new era, but though the country has hosted an Afcon and reached a final in the last five years, the Salah era is yet to deliver the trophy itself.

Egypt made a poor start in Cameroon, defeated by Nigeria in their group opener, but are entitled to feel Salah’s goal, the only strike of the victory over Guinea-Bissau, pointed them in the right direction. Sudan were then beaten to close out the group and set up the standout heavyweight clash of this first phase of knockouts.

Ivory Coast versus Egypt is the meeting of two former champions. It also puts, head-to-head, two goalscorers who have been at the top of their form this season in club football’s most prestigious competitions. Salah has missed Liverpool matches while at Afcon, but he left the Premier League title race scarcely concerned anybody else was likely to catch him up as the leading marksman in England’s top division. He has 16 goals so far from his 20 games.

Egypt's forward Mohamed Salah lays injured after being tackled by Sudan's defender Mazin Mohamedein Alnour Mohamed during the Group D Africa Cup of Nations match at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaounde, Cameroon on January 19, 2022. Egypt won the match 1-0. AFP

Sudan defender Mazin Mohamedein Alnour Mohamed walks away after leaving Egypt's Mohamed Salah injured. AFP

Sudan's Mazin Mohamedein Alnour Mohamed tackles Egypt's Mohamed Salah. AFP

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah runs with the ball under pressure from Sudan's defender Mazin Mohamedein Alnour Mohamed. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah hoots at goal. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah takes on the Sudan defence. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah celebrates next to Sudan's Mustafa Ahmed Saeed Elfadni after the final whistle as Egyppt advanced to the last 16 at Afcon 2021. AFP

Egypt's forward Mohamed Salah challenges Sudan's defender Elsadig Hassan. AFP

Egypt forward Omar Marmoush lies on the pitch, surrounded by teammates. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah in action. Reuters

Egypt's Mohamed Salah at the end of the match. AP Photo

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah and defender Ahmed Hegazi celebrate. AFP

Sudan goalkeeper Ali Abou Achrine watches on as Egypt's Mohamed Salah shoots at goal. AP Photo

Egypt's forward Mohamed Salah challenges Sudan's defender Mustafa Karshom. AFP

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah sees his shot saved by Sudan goalkeeper Mohamed Mustafa. AFP

Egypt's forward Mohamed Salah shoots. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah dribbles with the ball. AP Photo

Egypt's Mohamed Salah, left, is challenged by Sudan's Mustapha Abdelgader Karshoum. AP Photo

His form in the Champions League has been exceptional, too. In most seasons, a strike-rate of seven Liverpool goals from six games would set a man clear of the rest. But this term’s group stage in the European Cup has been the personal playground of Sebastien Haller, the Ajax and Ivory Coast striker: in five-and-a-half Champions League games, he has 10 goals.

Haller and Salah are very distinct footballers, in style, but they share a backstory of overcoming setbacks. Both have suffered a degree of rejection in the Premier League, to where Salah moved at 21 to join Chelsea. He found himself marginalised at the London club, but relaunched his career in Italy and found the perfect platform for his strengths and ambitions with Liverpool.

Haller, born in France and successful in the Bundesliga, joined West Ham United when he was 25. The spell in England yielded a poor rate of goals given he had arrived for a club-record fee, some €50 million. He joined Ajax a year ago: 35 goals in 43 games later, has hardly looked back.

While at West Ham, Haller, now 27, committed to an international career with Ivory Coast, the country of his maternal heritage, having represented France at age-group level. He made a stunning start, coming off the bench to score on his Ivory Coast debut. He registered his fourth goal for his country in the 2-2 draw with Sierra Leone ten days ago.

“It’s my first Afcon and it’s a great competition,” said Haller on Tuesday. “There are things we can improve on, but we haven’t come here to not win it. I want to make history and grow with this national team.”

As for Egypt, Haller described “a team made for big games — with a genius player in Mo Salah”.

Ivory Coast forward Sebastien Haller celebrates scoring his team's first goal in their 2-2 draw against Sierra Leone in the Africa Cup of Nations match at Stade de Japoma in Douala, Cameroon, on Sunday, January 16. AFP

Ivory Coast's Sebastien Haller fires home their opening goal. AFP

Sierra Leone players celebrate after the match. Reuters

Sierra Leone's Mustapha Bundu (fights for the ball with Wilfred Zaha of the Ivory Coast. AFP

Sierra Leone goalkeeper Mohamed Nbalie Kamara makes a save with Wilfried Zaha waiting to pounce in background. AFP

Sierra Leone's Musa Noah Kamara, centre, celebrates after scoring their opening goal. AFP

Ivory Coast forward Wilfred Zaha. AFP

Mohamed Buya Turay, of Sierra Leone, turns away from Ivory Coast's Serge Aurier. Reuters

Alhaji Kamara celebrates scoring his Sierra Leone's second goal. AFP

Ivory Coast's Wilfred Zaha misses a chance to score. AFP

Nicolas Pepe celebrates after scoring his Ivory Coast's second goal. AFP