Thursday’s final match was a tale of two halves in Group B at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations as Ghana and Egypt played out an exhilarating 2-2 draw in Abdijan. Mohammed Kudus scored twice for the Black Stars while Omar Marmoush and Mostafa Mohamed struck for Egypt to leave the teams with a point each and plenty of work to do in their final group stage fixtures. Egypt, who lost superstar Mohamed Salah to a first half injury, will look to improve on their total of two points against Cape Verde on Monday and Ghana needs a victory against Mozambique.
The first half was a dry affair with little opportunities for either team, who continued to battle in the midfield with little resolution. However the end of the half featured a couple of important moments that laid the foundation for the exciting second half, the first incident occurring in the second minute of stoppage time when Egypt star Mohamed Salah was forced off due to injury.
Only moments after Salah was substituted, Ghana furthered the misery for the Egyptian team when playmaker Mohammed Kudus received a pass 25 yards from goal and unleashed a powerful strike past Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy.
Despite the absence of their star, Egypt regrouped at halftime and began consistently creating opportunities. Mohamed Abdelmonem had a goal disallowed in the 51st minute but almost twenty minutes later the match was level. Ghana forward Iñaki Williams attempted to pass back to goalkeeper Richard Ofori but left it short allowing Marmoush to swoop in and go around the onrushing Ofori before rolling in the leveler.
Egyptian joy quickly gave way to agony less than two minutes later. Kudus collected a pass on the right side of the Egyptian penalty area from Denis Odoi and cut towards goal for a shot that took a deflection on its way past El Shenawy. Five minutes of madness were completed soon after when Egypt substitute Trezeguet won the ball off Osman Bukari on the left wing and drove to the end line before crossing low for Mohamed to poke a shot past Ofori and make it 2-2. Both teams made more forays forward in the final minutes but were forced to settle for a point each when the full time whistle arrived.
Highlights of the thrilling clash are below.
Match Highlights
