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In the African Nations Cup tournament, the quarterfinal matches began. Senegal secured their place in the semifinals on Friday, after a tough battle defeating Guinea's resistance, and the tournament's host Egypt convincingly beat the DR Congo team.
Guinea 2 - 3 Senegal 23` [1 - 0] Kaba Diawara 62` [1 - 1] Pape Bouba Diop 83` [1 - 2] Mamadou Niang 90+3` [1 - 3] Henri Camara 90+5` [2 - 3] Pascal Feindouno
Guinea dominated the beginning of the match and had several opportunities in attack through Kaba Diawara, who had a couple of header attempts off target and later sent the ball into the net, but his goal was disallowed for offside.
However, Guinea broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute after a mistake by the Senegalese goalkeeper - receiving a pass from the defenders, Tony Sylva mishandled the ball and shot it straight to Kaba Diawara, who jumped over Senegal's goalkeeper and calmly scored into an empty net.
In the second half, the game changed and Senegal took the initiative. After over an hour of play, the score became level - following a beautiful pass by Diomansy Kamara, Pape Bouba Diop's strong header beat Guinea's goalkeeper Naby Diarsa. The Senegalese attacks continued, and a powerful long-range shot by Amdy Faye hit the crossbar, and after a great combination, D. Kamara made an inaccurate final pass to his teammate.
With seven minutes left until full time, Senegal took the lead when Guinea's Bobo Balde made a mistake and Henri Camara, breaking through on the side, passed the ball to an unmarked Mamadou Niang in the middle of the penalty area, who scored the second goal for his team with an unstoppable shot from the crossbar.
In the third minute of added time, H. Camara secured victory for the Senegalese, scoring a shot into the empty net after the goalkeeper blocked M. Niang's first attempt, and the second was cleared off the goal line.
After a couple of minutes, a superb penalty kick by Pascal Feindouno was scored, but it did not save Guinea from defeat. Meanwhile, at the end of the match, players from both teams were involved in a mass brawl. Senegal won and now awaited their opponent, who would be the winner of the next quarterfinal.
Egypt 4 - 1 DR Congo 33` [1 - 0] Ahmed Hassan (11m.) 41` [2 - 0] Hosam Hassan 45` [2 - 1] Abdel Zaher El Saka 57` [3 - 1] Emad Motab 89` [4 - 1] Ahmed Hassan
In front of 70,000 spectators at the Cairo stadium, the match started with both teams exchanging dangerous attacks, but the hosts Egypt were the first to score - Ndandu Kasongo fouled Amr Zaki in the penalty area, and Ahmed Hassan converted the penalty kick.
In the 41st minute, Egypt doubled their lead through the attacking veteran 39-year-old Hosam Hassan, who after a precise long pass managed the ball and sent it into the net with a strong shot. However, just before halftime, Congo revived their hopes with a goal from El Saka, redirecting Cyrille Mubialo's attempted shot into their own goal.
Missing a goal, Egypt sought a third in the second half, but Congo's goalkeeper Pascalis Kalemba blocked Hossam Hassan's close-range shot and later defended well against Tarek El Sayed's attempt. Nevertheless, Egypt's pressure paid off midway through the second half, as Emad Moteab scored his third goal of the tournament.
Despite this, Congo continued to fight and constantly threatened the opponent's goal. Biscotte Mbala found space in the penalty area, but his shot hit the crossbar. In the final moments of the match, Ahmed Hassan sealed the victory with a penalty kick - Egypt comfortably won and will now face Senegal in the semifinals on February 7th.
