The Crystal Palace midfielder took the pitch with the quarter-final level at 1-1 in the 65th-minute, and scored three minutes later to ensure his country’s progression.
He made the most of a defensive error from Equatorial Guinea, tapping in on the edge of the six-yard box and giving his side the confidence to drive home their win.
Ismaïla Sarr added a third for the Lions of Teranga to build on Famara Diedhiou’s 28th-minute effort and ensure the tournament’s favourites made the final four.
But it didn’t always look so assured for Senegal, who were tied at 1-1 after Jannick Buyla equalised in the 57th-minute with a smart goal against a flustered defence.
They will now play Burikina Faso on Wednesday, February 2nd, at 19:00 GMT. Burkina Faso, who stunned Tunisia in their quarter-final, are 60th in the FIFA World Rankings while Senegal sit 20th.
Earlier in the tournament Wilfried Zaha joined his Ivory Coast teammates towards the end of an impressive 3-1 win over Algeria, topping Group E and sending Alergia home in another upset at the tournament.
However Les Éléphants could not overcome Egypt in the round of 16 and, with the score tied at 0-0 after 120 minutes, were forced out of the competition in a 4-5 penalty shootout. Zaha came on after 71 minutes and converted his penalty.
Before that Jordan Ayew’s Ghana were knocked-out at the group stage.
As we near the AFCON final, see how every Palace player fared in the tournament below.
FIXTURES AND RESULTS
All times are UK time.
Ghana – Ayew
- Morocco 1-0 Ghana (Ayew played 86 minutes alongside his brother Andre up-front)
- Gabon 1-1 Ghana (Ayew started the game, and was substituted in injury time)
- Ghana 2-3 Comoros (Ayew played the full 90 minutes up front)
Senegal – Kouyaté
- Senegal 1-0 Zimbabwe (Kouyaté played match in the centre of midfield)
- Senegal 0-0 Guinea (Kouyaté played match in the centre of midfield)
- Malawi 0-0 Senegal (Kouyaté played the full 90 minutes in central midfield)
Ivory Coast – Zaha
- Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Ivory Coast (Zaha replaced Maxwel Cornet in the 71st-minute)
- Ivory Coast 2-2 Sierra Leone (Zaha earned an assist and won a penalty before being replaced in the 82nd-minute)
- Ivory Coast 3-1 Algeria (Zaha came on after 85 minutes)
Round of 16
- Tuesday, 25th: Senegal 2-0 Cape Verde (Kouyaté was not in the matchday squad)
- Wednesday, 26th: Ivory Coast 0-0 (4-5) Egypt (Zaha came on in the 71st-minute and scored in the penalty shootout)
*Quarter-finals
- Sunday, 30th January: Senegal 3-1 Equatorial Guinea (Kouyaté came on in the 65th-minute and scored the crucial second goal moments later)
Semi-finals
- 2nd-3rd February
Final
- 6th February
Stay tuned to cpfc.co.uk, the official Palace app and our social media channels to find out how Cheikhou gets on!
