AFCON: Egypt beats Burkina Faso, qualifies for final
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By Wole OTAYEMI
GABON: VETERAN Egyptian goalkeeper Assam El Haddary became the hero of the seven times African champions as they beat hard-fighting Burkina Faso on penalties to reach the final of the African Cup of Nations in Gabon on Wednesday night.
Mohammed Salah gave the North African players, trained by Coach Hector Cuper, the lead which only lasted for seven minutes before Bance levelled up for Burkina Faso at the match played inside the Stade de l’Amitie in Libreville.
The 44-year-old goalie stopped two kicks from the Burkinabes, who defeated Tunisia two goals to nil to face the Egyptian side that never conceded any goal since the competition began.
Egypt will now meet the winner of the second semi-final between Cameroon and Ghana who will be tackling themselves Wednesday night in Franceville.
Before going into the shoot-out, the two teams had struggled harder during the additional 30 minutes but all the efforts yielded no goal.
Cuper, whose team is the most successful of the continental championships, was delighted at the defeat.
He said: “In my entire career, I’ve never seen players play for the jersey as much as these young Egyptians do.”
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