7-time winners of the Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt were so solid that they defended almost 60 minutes with 10 men and emerged victorious against the d
7-time winners of the Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt were so solid that they defended almost 60 minutes with 10 men and emerged victorious against the decent South Africa.
The game had promised to be cagey, looking at how good the two sides have been in 2025. They both commenced their campaigns in Morocco with wins, setting the tone for a high-spec affair.
Mohammed Salah’s cool finish from the penalty kick on the stroke of half-time settled the contest. Immediately after Salah’s goal, Egypt went down to 10-men after right back Mohamed Hany was shown a second yellow card for a rough tackle.
Both teams knew a win would send them through to the knockout stage, so the Pharaohs decided to protect their 1-0 advantage while the South Africans went all out for the equaliser.
Egypt showed much resilience and solidity at the back and prevented Hugo Broos’ charges from scoring in the entire second half with a man down.
Hossam Hassan’s Egypt have won six points from two games and will now only wait for their opponents for the knockout phase. South Africa must avoid any defeat against Zimbabwe in their final game of the group to avoid any form of progression.
Zimbabwe earlier played an intense 1-1 draw against Angola in Marrakech. Gelson Dala met a perfect cross from To Carneiro and produced an accurate finish to put Angola in front.
Knowledge Musona’s brilliant shot to the bottom left corner levelled the scores in additional time of the first half for Zimbabwe.
Both teams failed to score a winner and hence settled for a point each.
Angola will face Egypt, who have already qualified, while Zimbabwe will meet Bafana Bafana in the final games of the group.
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