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Burkina Faso 1 (Bance 73) Egypt 1 (M. Salah 66) aet
Egypt won 4-3 on penalties
Thursday
Cameroon v Ghana
Libreville, Gabon | AFP |
Veteran goalkeeper Essam El Hadary’s save from Bertrand Traore’s spot-kick allowed Egypt to beat Burkina Faso 4-3 on penalties on Wednesday as they secured their place in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
A tense match in Libreville had ended 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra time, with Mohamed Salah’s superb 66th-minute opener for the Egyptians quickly cancelled out by Aristide Bance for Burkina Faso.
PENALTIES ??3-4??
❌Saied
✅A.Traore
✅Sobhi
✅Diawara
✅Hegazi
✅Yago
✅Salah
❌Koffi
✅Warda
❌B.Traore
Egypt advance to #CAN2017 final pic.twitter.com/DRgIfAdeAt— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) February 1, 2017
The Total Man of the Match is E. EL HADARY! Great performance!#CAN2017 #BFAEGY #FootballTogether pic.twitter.com/WXQH529A8r
— CAF (@CAF_Online) February 1, 2017
?? Egypt have reached their 9th AFCON final, lost only in 1962. In 3 of the winning finals they beat Cameroon (1986, 2008) and Ghana (2010).
— African Soccer (@African_Soccer) February 1, 2017
Abdallah El Said missed Egypt’s first penalty in the shoot-out but El Hadary kept the Pharaohs in it when he saved from opposing goalkeeper Herve Koffi, and the 44-year-old veteran then denied Traore from the last kick of the shoot-out.
For Egypt, the record seven-time champions of Africa, the win completes a remarkable journey all the way to the final in their first appearance in the tournament after a seven-year absence.
They will play Cameroon or Ghana in the final in Gabon’s capital on Sunday as they look to reclaim a trophy they had won three times in a row between 2006 and 2010 before their fall from grace.
