The Elephants, who were in the North African nation to defend the title they had lifted in 2023 on home soil, failed to reach the semi-finals stage after losing 3-2 against a spirited Egypt at Stade Adrar in Tangier.
In a tightly congested fixture, captain Mohamed Salah scored and provided an assist as the Pharaohs withstood Ivory Coast wave to snatch a dramatic 3-2 victory.
Manchester City star Omar Marmoush scored the opener with only four minutes played before Ramy Rabia doubled the lead with a superb header off a Salah corner-kick.
However, the Elephants reduced the deficit when pressure from Yan Diomandé forced Ahmed Fatouh to turn the ball into his own net. But before the Ivorian could move level at 2-2, Salah drilled home a low shot to score his fourth of the AFCON, but third for Egypt.
Despite Guela Doue reducing the deficit in the 73rd minute, Egypt held on for the remaining minutes to kick out Ivory Coast, who were among the favourites to be crowned the 2025 edition champions.
Ivory Coast made far too many mistakes
Speaking after the game, Fae conceded defeat insisting his players made a lot of mistakes while admitting the third goal from Egypt killed off their comeback hopes.
“We are frustrated by tonight’s result. We had prepared our players to face this Egyptian team, but we made far too many mistakes at key moments in the match to hope to eliminate them,” Fae told CAF Media.
“What hurts most tonight are those mistakes. It took us some time to get into the match. I regret conceding the first goal so early, as well as the second. We reacted well by coming back to 2-1 before halftime.
“But the third goal put us in trouble. It’s hard to explain these lapses in concentration. We will continue to work to prepare for the World Cup.”
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan praised his players for giving everything to win the contest and further promised to rectify mistakes committed from the game ahead of their last four assignment.
“Since we arrived, I’ve always said that every match is like a final for us. That’s how we approach every game. Every match is different, and we adapt to each opponent,” said Hassan, who is Egypt’s all-time top scorer with 69 goals in 177 appearances.
“I’m very happy about our qualification. The players gave everything, and I’m proud of them. Our preparation made the difference. We knew they were the reigning champions.
“We respected them and put a game plan in place, which worked today. It’s true we also made mistakes in the match that cost us two goals, but we scored three. However, we will correct these shortcomings for the next matches.”
Following the win, Egypt will come up against Senegal in the semi-finals. The Lions of Teranga reached the stage after defeating Algeria 1-0 in the other quarter-final fixture.
