CAIRO: With a splendid – if somewhat unexpected – 3-1 victory against the Ivory Coast, Egypt has made its way into the quarter-finals atop of Group A. The win, while a boon for Egyptian fans, sends Morocco, runners-up two years ago, packing, without having netted a single goal through their matches.
Egypt added three valuable points to win their group with a total of seven, while the Ivory Coast came in second place, a point behind. Morocco, in third, exits the tournament with two goalless draws and a loss. At the bottom of the group is Libya, with a single point.
As the first half ended leveled between Egypt and the Ivory Coast, the hosts managed to score twice in the ensuing half, with Mohamed Abu Treka and Emad Motaeb sparking the 74,000 strong at Cairo International Stadium into an explosive fervor. The Ivory Coast failed to bounce back thanks to a solid performance by Egypt s defense and goalkeeper Essam El Hadary.
Since the start, Egypt had the edge with the presence of three strikers, while Henri Michel, the head coach of the Ivory Coast, kept five of his key players on the bench, among them world-class Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. At the ten minute mark, Egypt s defender Abdel Zaher El Saka met Mohamed Baraket s cross, the ball finding unmarked striker Emad Motaeb, who sent the ball home. The Ivory Coast started to push forward, looking for an early equalizer. At the 23rd minute, Christian Romaric fired a close-range shot, with it just going over the bar. A minute later, Egypt s striker Mido departed the pitch due to injury, with veteran striker Hossam Hassan replacing him.
The Egyptians bounced back to maintain their early lead. Sixteen minutes before the break, Christian Romaric fired a close-range shot that was easily collected by El Hadary. A minute later, Arouna Kone was on the verge of equalizing for the Ivory Coast as another close shot was blocked by El Hadary.
Three minutes from the interval, the score was leveled through Arouna Kona, who snapped a shot off the 18-box area past El Hadary. Two minutes later, Mohamed Abu Treka delivered a powerful shot that was well saved by Ivory Coast s goalkeeper Jean-Jacques Tizie.
After the break, the ball seemed to scatter aimlessly throughout the pitch, with both teams lacking the capability to end their attacks positively. At the 15th minute, Abu Treka played a one-two pass (give-and-go) with Hossam Hassan before sending a brilliant left-footed volley into the right corner of Tizie s net. The goal brought the crowd to their feet and more misery to the Ivory Coast, as goalkeeper Tizie received an injury and was replaced by Barry Boubacar.
Midway through the second half, Emad Motaeb extended Egypt s lead as he scored his second goal of the night after Hossam Hassan s header rebounded off the cross-bar. Motaeb s head sealed it, despite a desperate attempt by Ivory Coast s goalkeeper.
The Ivory Coast pressed forward with the two-goal gap. Egypt defense, however, remained solid against the flow of the Ivorian attacks. Seven minutes from the end, El Hadary made another brilliant save, reacting quickly to Kalou Bonaventure s superb shot.
Following the game, Henri Michel expressed his disappointment. I m really disappointed at the way we lost tonight; I guess the turning point of the game was the replacement of our regular goalkeeper Jean-Jacques Tizie – he has always been a great force to us, Michel said.
Meanwhile, Shawki Ghareeb, assistant head coach of Egypt, praised the effort exerted by the players. I would like to thank the players for their great effort tonight and I believe it was a deserved victory. Moreover I would like to give special credit to the fans, said Ghareeb.
In the game being played simultaneously, Morocco failed to score against Libya, a side which was eliminated earlier. A dour game with no potential chances on either side, the game ended with a goalless draw.
Egypt, as top of their group, will now face the second of group B in the quarter-final phase. As for the Ivory Coast, they will have to confront the group B leaders, more likely to be the Lions of Cameroon.
