• The “Pharaohs” secure their place in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals

The Egyptian national team achieved a well-deserved and valuable victory over their Ivorian counterparts, 3-2, in the marathon match that brought them together on Saturday at the Adrar Stadium pitch.

With this win, the “Pharaohs” secured their place in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, setting up a highly anticipated clash with the Senegalese national team.

The match began with fierce Egyptian pressure, as star player Omar Marmoush, “Manchester City’s English forward”, opened the scoring early in the fourth minute.

Marmoush continued to threaten the Ivorian goal in the 12th minute, but the offside flag denied him a second certain goal.

Rabi’ah and Salah Shine as Gap Narrows

In the 21st minute, defender Hossam Abdel-Meguid nearly doubled the lead with a powerful header, brilliantly saved by the Ivorian goalkeeper, before Rami Rabi’ah succeeded in adding the second goal in the 32nd minute with a precise header that found the back of the net.

Five minutes before the end of the first half, Côte d’Ivoire reduced the deficit following an own-goal error by full-back Ahmed Fathy, ending the half with Egypt ahead 2-1.

With the start of the second half, captain Mohamed Salah scored the third goal in the 52nd minute, after a “silky” pass from Imam Ashour set him up for a direct confrontation with the goalkeeper, calmly slotting the ball into the net as “the Egyptian King”.

Final-Minute Drama and Hossam Hassan’s Management

The final minutes were extremely tense, especially after player “Dewi” scored the Elephants’ second goal in the 73rd minute from a corner that goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy mishandled.

To preserve the result, head coach Hossam Hassan made tactical substitutions, bringing on Mahmoud Trézéguet for Imam Ashour in the 79th minute, and Mustafa Mohamed in the 90th minute to energize the attack.

Despite Ivorian pressure and tense moments that saw Hossam Abdel-Meguid receive a yellow card from referee Mustafa Ghorbal, the “Pharaohs” held on to their victory until the final whistle, confirming their readiness to compete for the prestigious continental title.