Ivory Coast’s defence of their Africa Cup of Nations title ended after they fell to a 3–2 defeat against Egypt at Stade Adrar on Saturday evening.Omar Marmoush forward got Egypt off to a flying st...
Ivory Coast’s defence of their Africa Cup of Nations title ended after they fell to a 3–2 defeat against Egypt at Stade Adrar on Saturday evening.
Omar Marmoush forward got Egypt off to a flying start, opening the scoring inside the fourth minute.
The Manchester City forward outmuscled his marker to receive a pass from Emam Ashour before picking out the far corner to net his second goal of the tournament.
Egypt doubled their advantage after the half-hour mark from a corner-kick delivered by captain Mohamed Salah, which Rami Rabia headed into the bottom-right corner.
Just when the Pharaohs appeared set to head into the break with a two-goal lead, Ahmed Fatouh inadvertently turned the ball into his own net to halve Ivory Coast’s deficit.
Shortly after the restart, Salah restored Egypt’s two-goal cushion following a beautiful team move. Ashour collected a pass over the top before slipping in the Liverpool forward, who applied the finish.
Salah has now scored against 11 different teams at AFCON, the most of any player in the competition’s history.
On the hour mark, Egypt nearly added to their tally when Salah picked out Mohamed Hany but the latter’s effort was saved by goalkeeper Yahia Fofana.
Guela Doue pulled one back for the defending champions in the 73rd minute with a right-footed shot from close range, setting the game up for a tense finale.
Two minutes from time, substitute Vakoun Bayo almost completed the comeback with a headed effort, but Mohamed El Shenawy was equal to the task.
Egypt will now face Senegal, who beat Mali 1-0, in next Wednesday’s semi-final at Tangier Grand Stadium.
Category: General Sports
