Egypt to meet Ghana in Africa final
Source: Agencies |
January 30, 2010, Saturday
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EGYPT and Ghana have advanced to the African Nations Cup final, maintaining their records as the tournament's most successful teams.
They will both play in a final for the eighth time when they meet in Luanda, Angola, tomorrow after Ghana edged out Nigeria 1-0 and Egypt thumped Algeria 4-0 in the semifinals.
Egypt, which remains on course for a record-breaking third successive title, will be heavily fancied against the injury-hit Ghanaian team, which overcame the absence of several key players to book its first final in 18 years.
Egypt had been eliminated from World Cup qualification by Algeria but extracted a measure of revenge with the victory in a game that saw three Algerian players sent off.
"This is a special win," Egypt captain Ahmed Hassan said. "We all wanted a win but we didn't expect to win by four goals."
Rafik Halliche, Nader Belhadj and goalkeeper Fawzi Chaouchi were red carded while Hosni Abd Rabou (penalty), Mohamed Zidan, Mohamed Abdelshafi and Mohamed Nagui scored for Egypt.
"It's clear the referee spoilt the game. The first red card was for nothing and we were completely deflated by that," Algeria coach Rabah Saadane said. Algeria defender Madjid Bougherra also said: "The level of refereeing in Africa is still very poor. We will be going to the World Cup. We'll get enough time to improve."
Ghana turned in a tight defensive performance to beat Nigeria, Asamoah Gyan's 21st minute header making the difference between the sides.
"It's unbelievable," Ghana scorer Asamoah Gyan said. "We are a young team and not many people gave us a chance of making the final."
Nigeria, which dominated possession, created chances after Gyan's goal but Ghana responded with solid defense.
"I had told my players that we were going to play to reach the final and not to produce beautiful football," Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac said. "Only the result matters. It's all about the result."
Ghana's Opoku Agyemang left the field in the 32nd with a leg injury, dealing a blow to a team which excelled without its core players including captain Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah.
"We didn't lose to a better side, but to a youthful and enterprising team," said Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu. "We were better and we paid for not making the most of our chances."
Egypt, which stretched its record-breaking unbeaten run at the Nations Cup to 18 games after Thursday's win, has won six titles while Ghana has won four.
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