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AFCON 2021: Elneny's Egypt into quarter-finals

Mo Elneny
Mo Elneny

Mohamed Elneny has qualified for the last eight of the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt after beating Nicolas Pepe's Ivory Coast 5-4 on penalties.

Our 29-year-old midfielder put in a Man of the Match performance as the north Africans continued the hunt for their first continental crown since 2010.

The match saw two Gunners go head-to-head for a place in the quarter-finals and it took a penalty shoot-out to split the teams after 120 minutes of deadlock at the Japoma Stadium. 

Both sides had chances in normal time but it was The Elephants who looked most threatening going into the closing stages. Sebastien Haller and Wilfried Zaha forced smart saves out of goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, but it wasn't enough to break parity.

After a goalless extra time, it was into the shoot-out. Pepe stepped up first for Ivory Coast and slotted home to give his side an early advantage. 

Egypt though continued to find the back of the net before Eric Bailly missed an all-important third penalty, allowing Mohamed Salah to seal the win.

Egypt will now face Morocco on Sunday in the quarter-final in Yaounde.