Egypt Responds with two Goals to Secure a Draw Against Ghana Following Salah's Unfortunate Injury

Egypt managed to equalize twice and secure a 2-2 draw against Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations, following an eventful second half in Abidjan.

Mohammed Kudus fired a powerful shot to give Ghana the lead just before halftime, shortly after Pharaohs captain Mohamed Salah had to leave the pitch due to an injury.

Omar Marmoush equalised, but Kudus from West Ham wasted no time in regaining the Black Stars’ advantage with a shot that took a deflection.

Nevertheless, Mostafa Mohamed made a decisive strike to secure Egypt their second point, while Ghana remains without a win after two Group B games.

There were opportunities for both teams to secure a victory in the late stages of the match. Ghana’s goalkeeper Richard Ofori made a crucial save to deny Emam Ashour’s shot, while Egypt’s goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy struggled to clear a corner, and Iddrisu Baba was unable to redirect the ball towards the goal.

Chris Hughton’s Black Stars suffered a defeat in their first match against Cape Verde, putting the four-time continental champions in danger of being eliminated in the group stage for the second time in a row at the Afcon finals.

Cape Verde has the opportunity to claim the top spot in Group B if they can defeat Mozambique on Friday (14:00 GMT). The outcome of the final round of games on Monday will determine the requirements for both Egypt and Ghana.

The 24-team format allows for the possibility of qualifying as one of the four best third-placed teams with just three points.

Salah managed to score a last-minute penalty to secure a 2-2 draw for Egypt against Mozambique in their first match. However, he had a limited impact in the match against Ghana and ended up expressing his frustration before leaving the pitch.

The injury will be a concern to both the North Africans, who were runners-up at the 2021 Afcon, and Liverpool given the 31-year-old’s central role in their Premier League title challenge.

Egypt coach Rui Vitoria expressed uncertainty about the issue at hand. Hopefully, it’s not a major issue. Now, I don’t know because it is early to see something. I don’t believe there is cause for concern, but we’ll have to wait and see how Salah’s recovery progresses.

Shortly after, Kudus, who was unable to play in Ghana’s first match due to injury, brought some excitement to an otherwise lacklustre first half.

The 23-year-old skillfully manoeuvred past two defenders just outside the penalty area D and confidently struck a left-footed shot that found the back of the net, nestled inside the left-hand upright.

The second half was full of incident and Mohamed Abdelmonem thought he had equalised six minutes after the break from Ahmed Hegazi’s header across goal, but the assistant’s flag went up for an offside in the build-up and the decision was confirmed by the video assistant referee.

Egypt, a team with an impressive record in the Afcon, managed to equalise in the 69th minute. Marmoush took advantage of a mistake from Inaki Williams, swiftly got past Ofori, and scored from a difficult angle.

However, Ghana quickly regained the lead shortly after, when Denis Odoi found Kudus in the area. Kudus’ left-footed strike took a deflection off Abdelmonem’s shoulder and found its way into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

The Black Stars could once again not hold on to their lead, though, as Trezeguet robbed Osman Bukari and set up Mohamed for a clever finish through Ofori’s legs – and an outcome that left both sides with work to do to in their final group games.