Razeen Gutta
Egypt has progressed to the quarter finals of Afcon 2021 after an intense battle against Ivory Coast which went all the way to penalties.
The game in Douala was the pick of the last 16 clashes, with both sides ranked among the top 10 in Africa.
Ivory Coast kept their streak of not conceding first in a game at the tournament and remained unbeaten after 90 minutes.
The contest was a hard fought one with little to separate the sides. The Elephants started well with some good chances for Franck Kessie and Max-Alain Gradel while The Pharaohs could have had an early lead themselves after Omar Marmoush hit the bar early on.
With possession evenly matched, Egypt had more shots. However, Ivory Coast had more clear-cut attempts on target.
The Elephants knew that this was all they had to play for after failing to qualify for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
They made full use of their bench strength with Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha and Burnley’s Maxwel Cornet both making appearances in the second half.
However, no side could find the breakthrough and a penalty shootout loomed.
Egypt’s second goalkeeper Mohamed Gabal came on just before extra time after an injury to Mohamed El Shenawy and his heroic save in the shootout to deny Manchester United’s Eric Bailly was what decided the contest.
All five of the Pharaohs converted their spot kicks, with Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scoring the final one in typical style.
Egypt will face Morocco in the last eight in Yaounde on Sunday for a place in the semi-finals.
