The seven-time champion is out of the game 8-9, 3 big upsets in one night!Sad and happy night: 98 minutes of stunner, 2 penalty shootouts
The 2024 Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations will be held at the beginning of the year at the same time, and they are currently in the first round of the knockout round 1/8 finals. In the early morning of January 29, Beijing time, the Asian Cup + Africa Cup ushered in a night of joy and sorrow, and three major upsets were born at the same time! First of all, in the Asian Cup, Tajikistan, which entered the main match for the first time, eliminated the West Asian powerhouse United Arab Emirates through a penalty shootout. Secondly, in the Africa Cup of Nations competition, Guinea, which qualified third in the group, beat Equatorial Guinea, the top of the group, in 98 minutes, and Egypt, the most successful seven-time champion in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, lost to Democratic Congo in a penalty shootout, and the favorite to win the championship was knocked out in the first round of the knockout round.
In the history of the African national team, Egypt has won the championship a total of 7 times, while Cameroon has won the championship 5 times and Ghana has been ranked second and third respectively 4 times. In this tournament, Salah led the Egyptian team to the game, aiming to hit the eighth crown, but in the group stage, Salah was injured unexpectedly and has now returned to Liverpool. Egypt scored 6 goals and conceded 6 goals in the group stage, won three draws, got 3 points, qualified for the round of 16 as the second place in Group B, and in the first round of the knockout round, the Egyptian team met the second place in Group F, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the two teams drew 1-1 in regular time, the Democratic Republic of the Congo scored a goal in the 37th minute by Elia, and Mostafa was the equalizer for Egypt in the first half of stoppage time. In the seventh minute of stoppage time in the second half, Mohammed was sent off for a second yellow card, and Egypt began to play with one man less. In extra time, neither team achieved anything. In the penalty shootout, the seven-time champion Egypt team went out with a miserable 7-8 and an aggregate score of 8-9!
In the other Africa Cup of Nations 1/8 final on this matchday, Equatorial Guinea, the first in Group A, met Guinea, the third in Group C. In the group stage, Equatorial Guinea performed particularly well, beating Nigeria and Ivory Coast, two traditional powerhouses in African football, to win the group and advance to the round of 16 of the knockout round. Guinea fell behind Senegal and Cameroon in Group C, and finally entered the round of 16 as the third in the group with a better result. Judging from the previous performance, Equatorial Guinea is undoubtedly the favorite to advance to the quarterfinals, but this time, Guinea broke out of the upset, Equatorial Guinea player Federico Bicoro left the field in the 55th minute, Guinea scored a stunning goal in the 98th minute by striker Bayeux, 1-0, and Guinea, which qualified third in the group, reached the quarterfinals.
In the 1/8 finals, Tajikistan drew 1-1 with the United Arab Emirates in regular time, both teams did not score in extra time, in the penalty shootout, the Tajikistan goalkeeper made a contribution to the second round of penalties in the United Arab Emirates, and finally Tajikistan scored 5-3 in the penalty shootout. With an aggregate score of 6-4, they knocked out the West Asian powerhouse United Arab Emirates and entered the last eight of the Asian Cup in history, and the next round opponent was the winner of Iraq and Jordan.