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Egypt's
midfielder Mahmoud Kahraba (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal
during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final football match between
Egypt and Morocco in Port-Gentil on January 29, 2017 ©Justin Tallis (AFP)
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Mahmoud Kahraba scrambled
in the winner in the 88th minute as Egypt beat Hervé Renard's Morocco 1-0 on
Sunday to reach the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.
AFP
report continues:
A
tense last-eight tie in Port-Gentil seemed destined for extra time until
Kahraba, on as a substitute, stabbed the ball over the line after the Moroccan
defence had failed to cut out a corner.
The
Pharaohs, record seven-time winners of the trophy, now advance to a semi-final
against Burkina Faso in Libreville on Wednesday after claiming a rare victory
against their north African rivals.
The
1-0 scoreline also means Hector Cuper's side have still not conceded a goal in
four games in Gabon.
"It
was a very complicated match for both teams for 94 minutes. We both had chances
but we were lucky to get the goal from a dead ball," said Argentine Cuper.
Defeat
for Morocco means Renard, following previous triumphs with Zambia and the Côte
d'Ivoire, will not become the first man to win a third Cup of Nations title
here with a third different country.
"Congratulations
to Egypt and their coach," said Renard.
"They
are a very, very strong team who on a difficult pitch managed to play football,
so when they find themselves on a better pitch it will be difficult to beat
them."
Given
the identities of the two coaches, this tie always looked likely to be a
close-fought tactical battle and so it proved on a dreadful pitch in
Port-Gentil that the tournament can be glad to see the back of.
Renard
opted to play with three centre-backs, Romain Saiss joining Manuel Da Costa and
skipper Mehdi Benatia in the middle of the defence as they looked to suffocate
the Egyptian attack.
It
was a largely successful tactic but the first half was almost totally devoid of
real incident.
Egypt
did threaten once when Nabil Dirar failed to clear at the back post and
Trezeguet's effort was saved by Munir Mohamedi.
At
the other end, Saiss was unable to connect with Da Costa's ball across the face
of goal but then headed against the top of the bar as the Egyptians struggled
to clear.
Cuper
had lost Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny to injury earlier in the day and he then saw
Marwan Mohsen limp off late in the first half, the striker the latest of many
victims of the pitch over the last two weeks.
A
livelier start to the second period saw the Moroccan 'keeper produce a strong
arm to block a Mohamed Salah effort before the pocket-sized midfielder M'bark
Boussoufa struck the bar at the other end.
The
bulk of the support in the stadium was for Morocco and the bulk of the chances
were going their way too in their first knockout round appearance since 2004.
But
striker Aziz Bouhaddouz, who scored in the group-stage win against Togo,
somehow could not connect with Faycal Fajr's driven ball inside the six-yard
box and then headed narrowly wide.
Salah
was the danger man for the Egyptians and when Abdallah El Said chipped a
free-kick over the wall and into his path, the Roma star's effort was
spectacularly saved by Munir.
Extra
time loomed but then Kahraba struck to spark wild Egyptian celebrations and
break Moroccan hearts.
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