Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie has reflected on his outfit defeat to Egypt in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, insisting their counter-attacking plan was successful.
The Pharaohs triumphed over the Elephants 3-2 at the Adrar Stadium in Agadir to secure a place in the semifinals of the continental showpiece, eliminating the defending champions from the tournament being held in Morocco.
Egypt has now set up a tricky semifinals clash against Senegal, who defeated Mali to secure a place in the last 8 of the tournament.
Speaking after the game, the former Barcelona and AC Milan star stressed their opponent game plan worked leading to their defeat on Saturday.
“The Egyptian national team plays collectively, and they are a great team where everyone can make a difference, not just one player” he told Al Arabiya:
“The Egyptian national team relies on counter-attacks, and simply put, their plan worked against us.”
“We knew we would have possession and they would let us play with the ball, which is what happened,” Kessie concluded. “Then they played to their game plan completely and were very realistic.”
Egypt last won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2010, defeating Ghana 1-0 to annex their seventh title on the continent, while Senegal won their first AFCON title in 2021.
