Egypt – Democratic Republic of Congo 1-1 (7-8): It was a very dramatic match in the round of 16 final between Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday evening. Without Mohamed Salah, the Egyptians were able to reach penalties, despite playing most of extra time with one fewer player than the opposition on the pitch.
Congo took the lead, but Egypt equalized through Mostafa Mohamed in extra time in the first half. After that, there were no more goals, and we had to resort to penalty kicks to find the winner.
It was pretty dramatic there too. Both teams missed the second penalty kick, but scored the other four. Thus, choosing the winner was like “sudden death.” There, both teams showed that they were able to maintain their calm. But in the end, the Democratic Republic of Congo was the winner, after Egypt goalkeeper Gabaski missed the penalty kick.
The Democratic Republic of Congo will meet Naby Keita and Guinea in the quarter-finals. Egypt, the country that won the Africa Cup of Nations of all time, is eliminated, and Salah is still waiting for his first title after losing in the 2017 and 2021 finals.
Salah went off injured near the end of the first half in the second match of the group stage. The captain was the savior in the first match against Mozambique, when he scored and provided an assist in the match that ended 2-2. Egypt qualified from the group stage with three points after all matches ended in a 2-2 draw. Egypt exited the tournament without losing a game after normal time, but they also went winless in a tournament that turned out to be very disappointing.
Salah is absent due to a hamstring injury, and is likely to be absent for another week and a half to three weeks. The Liverpool player was hoping to reach the final final on February 11, but can now focus on regaining his health and speed for the Reds' exciting seasonal push once the disappointment of being eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations has subsided.
Salah returned home to Merseyside after the group stage to receive the best possible treatment for the injury.
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”
