Egypt’s match against Cape Verde ended in unbelievable fashion, securing the Pharaohs a spot in the knockout rounds of the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday.
Despite drawing their first two games, Egypt’s chances of staying in the competition seemed bleak for most of the match. However, a dramatic turn of events in the final moments saw them take a late lead, only to concede an equalizer even later. Fortunately, Ghana’s 2-2 draw with Mozambique meant that a single point was enough to send the Pharaohs through to the last-16.
Egypt started the game with more energy and gradually gained momentum, causing Cape Verde to worry. Omar Marmoush took a long-range shot on goal, which was saved by goalkeeper Vozinha. Mostafa Mohamed attempted to score on the rebound, but Vozinha once again displayed his strength and made an excellent save.
Cape Verde took 32 minutes to make their first attempt on goal. Gilson Benchimol had a shot from inside the box, but it was deflected wide. This was a sign of things to come, as Benchimol later scored the opening goal. Ryan Mendes won the ball through good pressing and passed it to Kenny Rocha Santos, who then returned it to Mendes. Mendes then nodded it to Benchimol, who finished the goal.
In the second half, Egypt immediately pushed for an equalizer. Trezeguet, who came on as a substitute during halftime, scored the goal. He played a great one-two with Ahmed Hegazy after Cape Verde failed to clear a corner. Trezeguet was in top form, as he almost scored again less than two minutes later with a long-range shot that narrowly missed the post.
It was all Egypt from that point on as Rui Vitoria’s team relentlessly pushed to find the winning goal. However, they sorely missed Mohamed Salah as their promising attacks repeatedly fizzled out. The most crucial moment came when Mohamed missed a great chance to score, and then Emam Ashour’s powerful shot was saved by Vozinha, who prevented his team from suffering their first defeat on numerous occasions.
However, Mohamed redeemed himself in the end when Trezeguet delivered an incredible long pass to him. He skillfully lifted the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net, keeping his team’s hopes alive. The excitement didn’t end there, as Bryan Teixeira scored for Cape Verde, resulting in a 2-2 draw. Nevertheless, Egypt secured a spot in the knockout stage thanks to Ghana’s unexpected failures in other Group B matches.
Trezeguet ignited Egypt’s performance when he entered the game in the second half. The midfielder had an immediate impact, scoring a well-executed goal and creating another threatening opportunity. Among all the players, only Egypt’s starting striker Mohamed had more shots on goal than Trezeguet, which demonstrates his strong determination to motivate his team to win. Although one attempt to assist Mohamed in scoring the winning goal was unsuccessful, Trezeguet eventually provided a crucial assist by sending a long ball forward. Mohamed skillfully finished the play by lofting the ball over Vozinha, securing the victory in stoppage time.
Cape Verde’s goalkeeper, Vozinha, performed exceptionally well, keeping his team on par throughout the entire 90 minutes. He faced numerous shots during the game and managed to save all but two of them. However, he may regret not performing better on Trezeguet’s equalizing goal and appeared uncertain on how to react when Mohamed controlled a long ball at the end of the match.
Egypt concludes Group B with three points from three games, which is sufficient for them to secure second place in the standings and advance to the next round. Surprisingly, Cape Verde progresses as the group winner with seven points.
