The Atlas Lions have been eliminated after Egypt came back from a goal down to win 2-1 after extra time, the Pharaos will now face Cameroon in the semi-final
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Pharaohs overcame the shock of conceding an early penalty to dispatch their North African rival the Altas Lions of Morocco after extra time and move on to the last 4 stages.
Morocco were the quickest out of the blocks as Sofiane Boufal scored in the 7th minute from the penalty spot to give the Atlas Lions a 1-0 lead by halftime.
The referee awarded the spot-kick after A video assistant referee’s (VAR) review judged that Ayman Ashraf caught Achraf Hakimi inside the penalty box.
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Egypt dominated the game in the second half and were duly rewarded in the 53rd minute when Mohamed Salah tapped in a loose ball after Yassine Bounou parried an initial header to score the equaliser.
Salah turned a goal provider in the extra time when his pass was converted by Trezeguet in the 100th minute to give Egypt the lead for the first time in the match.
Carlos Queiroz’s men will face hosts in Cameroon in Thursday’s semi-final.
Egypt may need to play that game with third-choice keeper Mohamed Sobhi, who came on for his international debut after Gabaski hurt himself while tipping Nayef Aguerd’s header onto the bar near the end of normal time.
