Egypt defeated Sudan 1-0 in the knockout rounds of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021, with Mohamed Abdelmoneim El Sayed scoring the lone goal.
Abdelmoneim’s close range header from Abdalla Mohamed’s outswing corner gave the Pharaohs the lead 10 minutes before the intermission.
Egypt’s Ahmed Hegazy is tackled by Sudan’s Mohamed Mustafa and Mustafa Saeed during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Afcon Finals football match between Egypt and Sudan.
The defending AFCON champions came into the game with the only goal of advancing to the knockout rounds.
The Pharaohs were headed by talisman and captain Mohamed Salah to face Sudan, who also needed a victory to advance.
Egypt started brightly at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé with Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny firing over the goal inside the first minute.
Mohammed Hussein came close for Sudan with a low drive early on after Hegazy lost possession outside the Pharaohs box.
Mohamed Abdelmoneim of Egypt celebrates goal during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Afcon Finals football match between Egypt and Sudan
Mostafa Mohamed forced a save from Sudan goalkeeper Mohamed Mustafa Mohamed on the half hour mark.
The diminutive forward connected with Abdalla Mohamed’s inviting cross but the keeper was on hand to turn his header away for a corner.
Abdelmoneim was Egypt’s unlikely hero with a brilliant goal to beat Mustafa Mohamed and put Carlos Queiroz and his charges on the driving seat.
Mohamed Alrashed of Sudan challenged by Abdallah Said of Egypt during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Afcon Finals football match between Egypt and Sudan
Sudan came into the second half looking for the equaliser and Egypt had El Shenawy to thank for keeping the level in their favourite. The Al Ahly keeper was quick to push away an inviting cross from the left for a corner as Sudan continued to push forward on the counter.
Mohamed Salah saw his right footed effort saved on the hour mark from close range, the Liverpool man beat two defenders before firing straight at the keeper who had a hand to it.
El Shenawy was again called to action 10 minutes from time with a brilliant double save to keep his second cleansheet of the tournament.
The victory seals the Pharaohs place in the round of 16 with 6 points, three behind first place Nigeria and five ahead of Guinea-Bissau and Sudan.