Mohamed Salah's turn as Egypt beat Senegal

CAIRO: Mohamed Salah had his say this time as Egypt beat Sadio Mane's Senegal 1-0 in the first leg of their World Cup playoff on Friday.

Salah's early shot in Cairo cannoned off the crossbar, hit Senegal defender Saliou Ciss and went in to give Egypt a slim advantage over the newly crowned African champion to take to the second leg in Senegal on Tuesday.

The Salah-Mane international rivalry continued six weeks after the Liverpool teammates met in the final of the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon. Then, Mane hit the winning penalty in a shootout to give Senegal its first major title as Salah watched on helpless.

The Algerians returned to the same stadium where they were dumped out of the African Cup in the group stage as defending champion to clinch a crucial 1-0 away win over Cameroon in the first leg of their playoff.

Striker Islam Slimani scored with a header in the first half at Japoma Stadium in Douala, justifying his promotion to the starting lineup. Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana got a hand to the header but pushed it only onto the crossbar and watched the ball drop into the goal behind him.

Tunisia claimed a crucial 1-0 away win over Mali in scorching hot Bamako to give it the advantage in their tie.

Morocco's 1-1 draw in Congo made it a strong night for the North African challengers, although it would have been even better for the Moroccans if Ryan Mmaee hadn't fired a second-half penalty way over the crossbar.

Tarik Tissoudali ultimately equalized for Morocco with a fierce first-time shot after forward Yoane Wissa scored an early opener for Congo, which is trying to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since its only previous appearance as Zaire in 1974.

Ghana and Nigeria drew 0-0 in Ghana. Agencies

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