Egypt produced a spirited display on Saturday night to eliminate defending champions Ivory Coast with a dramatic 3-2 victory in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The record champions came out on top in an intense contest at the Stade Adrar in Agadir to secure their place in the semi-finals.
The Pharaohs wasted no time in stamping their authority on the match, opening the scoring in the fourth minute through Omar Marmoush. The forward found space inside the penalty area after a neat pass from Emam Ashour and calmly guided the ball into the bottom right corner to give Egypt an early advantage.
Ivory Coast struggled to settle as Egypt continued to apply pressure, and the lead was doubled in the 32nd minute. Mohamed Salah delivered a perfectly weighted corner kick, which was met by Rami Rabia, whose precise header from close range beat the goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
The holders pulled one back shortly before the break, benefiting from a stroke of fortune in the 40th minute. A dangerous free kick caused confusion in the Egyptian defence, and Ahmed Fatouh inadvertently headed the ball into his own net, reducing the deficit to 2-1 at half-time.
Egypt regained control after the restart and restored their two-goal cushion in the 52nd minute. Emam Ashour once again played a key role, threading a pass to Mohamed Salah, who made no mistake from inside the box as he fired into the bottom left corner to make it 3-1.
Ivory Coast refused to go down quietly and set up a tense finale in the 73rd minute. A corner kick caused havoc in the Egyptian penalty area, with the ball eventually falling to Guela Doue, who calmly slotted it past the goalkeeper to bring the score to 3-2.
Despite late pressure from the defending champions, Egypt held firm to seal a memorable victory and will now face Senegal in the semi-finals.
