Egypt set up what is certain to be a highly-charged semi-final against Algeria at the African Nations Cup when record-breaker Ahmed Hassan turned villain to hero in a 3-1 victory over Cameroon Monday.

Cameroon had actually gone ahead after Ahmed Hassan had put through his own net, but the vastly experienced midfielder who was winning a record 170th cap, levelled to take the game into additional time.

Taking Cameroon by surprise, Hassan unleashed a fierce 35-yard strike that was poorly dealt with by a scampering Carlos Kameni and kicked off the turf before flying in. That goal came in the 37th minute, and the score remained the same until the 95th minute, when Egypt were gifted two goals.

The first came when Geremi's poor back-pass from the right was intercepted by Gedo and tucked away with ease through the legs of Kameni. The second seems certain to land South African referee Damon in the spotlight after Hassan's free-kick from the left was pushed onto the underside of the crossbar by the Espanyol goalkeeper and did not cross the line when it hit the ground, but was still allowed to stand much to the dismay of the Cameroon players!