Once again, the Egyptian national team failed to secure a victory in their second match at the Africa Cup of Nations, as the Pharaohs displayed contrasting performances during their 2-2 draw against Ghana in the second round of Group B, which saw the exit of Liverpool star Mohamed Salah due to injury at the end of the first half and two goals scored by Ghana's Mohammed Kudus. The Egyptian team was not at its best in the first half, and when their performance improved relatively, they suffered two painful blows: Salah's injury during the stoppage time of the first half and seconds later, Kudus gave Ghana the lead with a shot from the edge of the penalty area.
The Egyptian team appeared more stable in the second half, dominating most of its duration. Within five exciting minutes of the second half, the Egyptian team scored two goals, courtesy of Omar Marmoush and Mustafa Mohamed, separated by Kudus' second goal. Egypt is in second place in Group B with two points from two draws, while Ghana sits at the bottom of the group with one point after losing their first match 2-1 against Cape Verde.
Egypt started the match with ball possession under high pressure from the Ghanaian team, which led to an opportunity for Kudus, who shot from a distance after regaining the ball from the Egyptian defense in the third minute, but the ball was safely in the hands of Mohamed El-Shenawy. In Ghana's first counter-attack, they nearly took the lead in the fifth minute, but El-Shenawy saved a one-on-one situation before the referee called an offside.
As minutes passed, the Ghanaian team controlled the ball while the Egyptian players retreated, and they posed no threat as the first half approached its midpoint, except for a breakthrough from Omar Marmoush that ended in the penalty area with a foul against a Ghanaian defender and a cross that had no follow-up. The match went back and forth between the two teams without any real danger to either goal, although Ghana appeared closer to scoring.
Towards the end of the first half, the Egyptian team looked better on both sides of the field, especially on the left flank led by Marmoush. In the most dangerous chance for Egypt, Marmoush rose high but could not reach a cross from Omar Kamel from the right side, and the ball reached Imam Ashour, who shot from inside the penalty area into the hands of the goalkeeper in the 43rd minute. At the end of the first half's regular time, Salah fell to the ground and requested to be substituted after apparently suffering an injury to his hamstring, with Mustafa Fathi coming on in his place.
In the third minute of stoppage time, Ghana scored the first goal from a shot by Kudus at the edge of the penalty area amid four Egyptian players. At the start of the second half, Kudus fired a powerful shot taking advantage of a corner, which El-Shenawy deflected with his palm, but the Ghanaian striker’s shot went over the crossbar. Mohamed Abdel-Moneim thought he had brought Egypt level from close range in the 51st minute, capitalizing on a cross from Ahmed Hegazi, but the referee ruled it offside—a decision confirmed by the video assistant referee.
Efforts from Fathi and Marmoush continued on the left side, with the latter sending a powerful shot that the goalkeeper tipped over the bar in the 58th minute. There was a rapid counter-attack initiated by Ashour, who intercepted the ball from Ghanaian players, and Marmoush unleashed a powerful shot that sailed over the bar in the 65th minute. In the 68th minute, the coach decided to bring on Mahmoud Hassan (Trezeguet) in place of Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny.
Egypt equalized in the 69th minute when Marmoush intercepted a weak ball played by Inaki Williams directed at his goalkeeper, dribbled past the keeper, and placed it into the net. However, Egypt's joy was short-lived as Kudus scored his second goal in the 71st minute with a left-footed shot from inside the penalty area amid defensive neglect. Just three minutes later, substitute Trezeguet stole the ball from a Ghanaian defender on the left side and delivered a low cross that Mustafa Mohamed finished into the net in the 74th minute.
