Mohamed Salah was the hero as Egypt progressed to the quarter-finals of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations against the Ivory Coast on Wednesday.
While the regulation 90 minutes, as well as the additional half-hour of extra time, might have finished goalless, there’s no denying that it was one of the tournament’s most gripping contests so far.
Nevertheless, with chances going abegging for everyone from Wilfried Zaha to Trezeguet, which nation would progress to the quarter-finals had to be decided by a penalty shootout.
The seven time champions of African won the shootouts by 5-4 as Manchester United’s Eric Bailly was the only player to fail to score his kick.
Egypt now meet Morocco on January 30th for another North African showdown at the quarter-final stage.
