Salah scores and Egypt eliminates Ivory Coast to join Nigeria in Africa Cup semifinals

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Mohamed Salah scored and Egypt eliminated defending champion Ivory Coast to move into the Africa Cup of Nations semifinals after a 3-2 victory on Saturday.

Salah nabbed his fourth goal of the tournament — Egypt’s third of the game — in the 52nd minute and the Pharaohs needed it as Ivory Coast threatened to come back twice from two goals down.

But Egypt held on in Agadir despite relentless Ivorian pressure and booked a semifinal date with 2021 champion Senegal in Tangier on Wednesday.

“We just fight for our country and hopefully we go through the next game as well," Salah said. "It’s (a) tough opponent, of course, and we give our best.”

Ivory Coast had a woeful start as Franck Kessie lost the ball in midfield after a poor touch and Odilon Kossounou fell over instead of cutting out Emam Ashour’s ball for Omar Marmoush, who scored in the fourth minute.

Ramy Rabia produced a brilliant block to preserve the lead then scored himself with a header from a corner in the 32nd.

Ivory Coast finally pulled one back in the 40th when Egypt defender Ahmed Fotouh bundled in a dangerous Yan Diomande free kick that Kossounou headed on.

Salah restored Egypt’s two-goal cushion early in the second half when Rabia caught the Ivorian defense out with a long ball for Ashour, who set up Salah with the outside of his boot.

Guéla Doué pulled one back again with his heel in a goalmouth scramble after goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy clawed the ball away in the 73rd, but the Elephants' equalizer never came.

Egypt is bidding for a record-extending eighth title.

Victor Osimhen scored one goal and set up another for Nigeria to down Algeria 2-0 for its place in the semifinals.

“We shouldn’t focus on my personal performance. We should focus on the team effort,” Osimhen said after a week in which he dominated headlines for his on-field argument with teammate Ademola Lookman in their previous game.

The Super Eagles, who had a far from ideal preparation with reports of bonuses not being paid, will face host Morocco in the second semifinal in Rabat on Wednesday.

They needed patience in Marrakech against the team with the best defense in the tournament after failing to take their chances in the first half — Akor Adams fired over when he had only Luca Zidane in the Algeria goal to beat, and Calvin Bassey had another effort cleared off the line.

Osimhen finally scored after the break when he headed the ball back across Zidane’s direction of movement from Bruno Onyemaechi’s cross.

It was the first goal at the tournament conceded by Zidane, whose parents were in the stands again.

But it was quickly followed by the second.

Patient buildup play preceded Alex Iwobi’s pass to Osimhen, who unselfishly played across for Adams, who eluded the out-rushing Zidane and poked the ball into the empty net in the 57th.

Algeria coach Vladimir Petković reacted with three changes including the withdrawals of captain Riyad Mahrez and star forward Ibrahim Maza but there was nothing the Fennec Foxes could do to get back in the game against the confident and assured Nigerians, who remained in control throughout.

Scuffles broke out after the game involving players and team officials, while referee Issa Sy was shielded from irate Algeria staff and escorted off the field.

Three-time champion Nigeria, which lost the final to Ivory Coast in the last edition, is bidding to win the title for the first time since 2013. It would help make up for the disappointment of failing to qualify for the World Cup — in contrast to Algeria.

Morocco and Senegal booked their semifinal places on Friday with wins over Cameroon and Mali, respectively.

AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations

Egypt's Mohamed Salah, left, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal soccer match between Egypt and Ivory Coast, in Agadir, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Egypt's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal soccer match between Egypt and Ivory Coast, in Agadir, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Egypt's Mohamed Salah, right, scores his side's third goal during the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal soccer match between Egypt and Ivory Coast, in Agadir, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Nigeria's Calvin Bassey, front, and Algeria's Redouane Berkane challenge for the ball during the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal soccer match between Nigeria and Algeria, in Marrakech, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Algeria's Fares Chaibi, left, and Nigeria's Akor Adams challenge for the ball during the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal soccer match between Nigeria and Algeria, in Marrakech, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Algeria's Rafik Belghali, left, and Nigeria's Akor Adams challenge for the ball during the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal soccer match between Nigeria and Algeria, in Marrakech, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Nigeria's Victor Osimhen celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal soccer match between Nigeria and Algeria, in Marrakech, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Nigeria's Victor Osimhen controls the ball during the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal soccer match between Nigeria and Algeria, in Marrakech, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ousted the Army’s top uniformed officer and two other generals, the Pentagon said Thursday without giving a reason for the departures while the United States is waging a war against Iran.

Gen. Randy George “will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately,” said Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesman. George has held the post of Army chief of staff, which typically runs for four years, since August 2023 under the Biden administration.

The ouster, reported earlier by CBS News, is just the latest of more than a dozen firings of top generals and admirals by Hegseth since he took office last year. Like many of those other firings, Pentagon officials are not offering a reason for George's departure, which comes nearly five weeks into U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and with no clear timeline from President Donald Trump on when the war may end.

Hegseth also has ousted Army Gen. David Hodne and Army Maj. Gen. William Green, according to a Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive leadership changes. A reason for their departures also was not given.

Gen. Christopher LaNeve will be stepping in as acting Army chief of staff, the Pentagon official said. LaNeve was serving as Hegseth’s top military aide when Trump suddenly nominated him to be the Army's vice chief of staff last October. It is a meteoric rise for an officer who was only a two-star general two years ago.

He would take over for George, who is a graduate of West Point Military Academy and an infantry officer who served in the first Gulf War as well as Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s top military aide from 2021 to 2022 during the Biden administration before taking on top leadership roles in the Army.

George made it through the initial round of firings under the Trump administration in February 2025, when Hegseth removed top military leaders, including Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top uniformed officer, and Gen. Jim Slife, the No. 2 leader at the Air Force. Trump also fired Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Since then, more than a dozen other top military generals and admirals have either retired early or been removed from their posts.

Among those departures was George’s deputy, Gen. James Mingus, who was vice chief of staff of the Army for less than two years. LaNeve was nominated to that post after earlier being plucked from commanding the Eighth Army in South Korea after less than a year in the job to be Hegseth’s top military aide.

A spokesman for George could not be reached for comment.

Of the other generals who were fired, Hodne had been head of the Army Transformation and Training Command, a unit that was only stood up in December as part of George’s effort to modernize the Army and amid Hegseth’s push to reduce the number of general officers in the military.

Green had been the Army’s chief of chaplains. Hegseth announced two major reforms to the military’s chaplain corps a little over a week ago.

In a video message last week, Hegseth said he wanted chaplains to focus more on God and less on therapeutic “self-help and self-care.” In recent years, the military has become increasingly dependent on chaplains to help address the growing numbers of troops in mental health distress. Hegseth also said chaplains would no longer wear their rank on their uniform but instead would be identified by religious insignia.

The leadership shakeup comes as Army paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne division are heading to the Middle East along with thousands of Marines and other assets. The Trump administration has avoided questions about whether or not the U.S. military will deploy ground troops against Iran.

In a prime-time address Wednesday about the war, Trump offered no end date for the conflict and few details on his strategy going forward but did forecast more military action.

“We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” Trump said of Iran, before adding that “we’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong.”

Hegseth echoed that sentiment after the speech, with a post on social media that simply read, “Back to the Stone Age.”

Iran’s mission to the United Nations said on X that Trump’s comment “reflects ignorance, not strength,” noting that Iran’s civilization spans over 7,000 years.

This story has been corrected to show that Gen. Jim Slife’s name was misspelled Silfe.

FILE - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, left, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George review troops during the POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

FILE - Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George speaks during the POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, file)

FILE - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, left, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George review troops during the POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

FILE - Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George speaks during the POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, file)