Egypt Win Third Consecutive African Cup of Nations

Published : February 01, 2010 :: 16:02:10 [ 1,498 views ]

In a controversial African Cup of Nations, Egypt succeeded in the end, winning their third consecutive final at the tournament. Unfortunately the competition was largely overshadowed by the Togo team bus attack and their preceding withdrawal from the competition.

Luanda, the 31st of January 2010 [PDN]: Egypt won their record seventh African Cup of Nations title after a late goal from Mohamed Nagy Gedo gave them a 1-0 win over Ghana at Estadio 11 Novembro in Luanda, Angola on Sunday.

The Ittihad Alexandria midfielder, a relative unknown before debuting on the eve of the Nations Cup, came off the bench, once again, to score his fifth goal in the tournament with a sweet 85th-minute finish in a remarkably tight game.

The win provided the solid Egyptian team with a little consolation for their heart-breaking World Cup play-off defeat to Algeria. Rounding off a day of records: in addition to the Pharaohs team haul, Ahmed Hassan and Essam El-Hadary picked up record fourth winners’ medals, coach Hassan Shehata and skipper Hassan became the first to win three in a row and Gedo became the first tournament top-scorer to solely feature from the bench. Egypt also extended their unbeaten run in the tournament to an incredible 19 matches but Ghana gave them a sterner test than anyone in their previous five games in Angola.

A young Ghanaian side, missing several star players, played out of their skins to match Egypt with a high-pressing, physical game. Chances were few and far between for both sides, but as players tired in the heat, the game opened up presenting Egypt’s moment of magic. It looked like Ghana might sneak victory prior to Gedo’s goal, even following setback they missed a last-gasp chance to level as Egypt contemplated their triumph before the final whistle.

Many of Ghana’s squad won the U20 World Cup last year and will be consoled by a place at the senior tournament this summer, although with the last of their four African triumphs coming in 1982, converting their dominance of junior football to the adult stage is proving elusive.

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