Egypt, the record seven-time champions of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), could not make it eight, knocked out of the last 16 against DR Congo on Sunday in a shocking upset.
Playing in host nation Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo prevailed with an 8-7 win on penalties after the teams finished 1-1 after extra time.
The Pharaohs’ defence was caught out by a quick throw-in for Congo’s opening goal, scored by Meschack Elia in the 37th. Egypt’s players thought a ball that went out was theirs, and massed to complain to the referee, leaving their goal open.
Elia’s shot also appeared to have been deflected by defender Ahmed Hegazi before Elia powered in a header past Mohamed Abu Gabal, better known as Gabaski, playing for the injured Mohamed Al-Shinnawi.
DRC’s lead lasted exactly nine minutes before Mustafa Mohamed converted a penalty on the stroke of half-time after Hegazi was hit in the face by the arm of Dylan Batubinsika. Mohamed thus scored his fourth goal of the tournament, one in every game.
Egypt finished the game with 10 players when defender Mohamed Hamdi was sent off in the first period of extra time with his second yellow card for a crushing challenge on Simon Banza.
In the shootout, Mohamed had less luck with his second penalty of the night, missing the goal entirely. But Congo’s Arthur Masuaku countered by sending his effort over the bar. Those shots were the second attempts and no player on either side would miss after that until Gabaski was forced to shoot, his ball nicking the crossbar before bouncing over.
His Congo counterpart Lionel Mpasi made no mistake, sending the Leopards into the quarter-finals where they will meet Guinea on Friday 2 February after they beat Equatorial Guinea 1-0 earlier on Sunday.
Gabaski was unable to emulate his penalty-saving exploits in AFCON 2022 in Cameroon when he almost single-handedly won the title for Egypt before they went down to Senegal in the final.
It had been reported that against DR Congo, Egyptian midfielder Mohanad Lasheen, who came on just a few minutes before the penalty shootout, had refused to take Egypt’s ninth and final penalty kick, forcing Abu Gabal to take it instead. Lasheen had missed the penultimate penalty kick against Senegal in the 2022 AFCON, helping the Teranga Lions win the title.
Egypt’s elimination against DR Congo was reminiscent of their AFCON campaign in 2019 when they departed after losing 1-0 to South Africa on home soil, also in the round of 16. The difference was that in 2022 Egypt beat all three opponents in the group stage for nine points. In Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt tied all three Group B games with identical 2-2 scores. In the end Egypt did not win a game in Cote d’Ivoire, tying three and losing once.
DR Congo also drew in their three group games, scoring only twice, but emerged victorious in the round of 16 in what was a big upset against record-winning champions Egypt. Egypt had met DR Congo four times before in the continental tournament, winning on three occasions including a 4-1 victory in the 2006 edition at home.
Since 1996 only four teams had progressed from their group with just three points.
After Sunday’s loss, and playing without injured Liverpool star Mohamed Star, who pulled a hamstring against Ghana in game two, Egypt’s Portuguese boss Rui Vitoria refused to comment on his future with the Pharaohs, insisting it was not the end yet.
When asked about his future with Egypt in the post-match press conference, Vitoria said: “This is not the time for hasty decisions; we will think before any decision.
“Part of the responsibility is mine. We’re going to keep working with this team as long as I am here.”
After the coaches of Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Tunisia and Algeria had all either been fired or left of their own accord due to sub-par performances, and Egyptian fans calling for his dismissal, it remains to be seen how long Vitoria will remain as Egypt’s head coach.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 1 February, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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