Egypt overcame Mido’s early injury and sent 74 000 fans into a frenzy on Saturday when it advanced to the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations by beating already-qualified Côte d’Ivoire 3-1.
Morocco, the runner-up two years ago, played to a 0-0 draw against Libya and dropped out of the tournament after failing to score in three games.
Mido, who plays for Tottenham in England, limped off the field after 23 minutes with what appeared to be a groin injury, but the Pharaohs still had enough to overcome an Côte d’Ivoire team that left Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and several other starters on the bench.
Emad Moteab scored two goals for Egypt and Mohamed Aboutrika added another to give Egypt first place in Group A with seven points and keep alive its bid for a record fifth African title.
Côte d’Ivoire, one of the five African teams that will play at this year’s World Cup in Germany, finished group play in second place with six points. Morocco was third with two and Libya last with one.
Defending champion Tunisia, Guinea and Cameroon also have advanced to the last eight from other groups, which still have not been completed.
While Morocco and Libya played to their scoreless draw at Cairo’s Military Stadium, the capacity crowd at the capital’s International Stadium had an evening to savour.
The crowd first erupted in the eighth minute when Moteab notched his first with a header from close range.
With Mido out, Egypt immediately dropped back a gear and the Elephants began getting back into the game.
Their efforts paid off two minutes before halftime when PSV Eindhoven striker Aruna Kone found the net from the edge off the area, with the ball taking a slight deflection.
A draw would have been enough to see Egypt through, but the Pharaohs produced a lively second half that delighted the home crowd.
Côte d’Ivoire coach Henri Michel had insisted before the game that his team would go for a win. But he kept his big guns on the bench and his team fell behind following the second-half injury of goalkeeper Jean-Jacques Tizie.
Substitute Boubacar Barry conceded two goals in 10 minutes.
Veteran Hossam Hassan flicked the ball to the left and Aboutrika drove the ball inside the far post in the 61st.
Under pressure, Côte d’Ivoire left gaps at the back and Moteab netted his second in the 69th. Barry had to reach far back for a deflected shot, getting his fingers on it and guiding the ball off the crossbar. It bounced back, and Hassan’s header appeared to be going wide but Moteab was at the far post to knock it in.
Morocco needed to defeat Libya and hope the Côte d’Ivoire beat Egypt in the other group match to have a chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.
The Moroccans controlled the match, but were unable to breakdown a solid Libyan defense.
Libya, playing for pride after having lost its two opening matches, was content to sit back and absorb Morocco’s pressure, and tried to launch several counterattacks that were dealt with easily by the Atlas Lions. – Sapa-AP