U23 AFCON: Black Meteors on the brink of exit after defeat to Egypt

Ghana are on the verge of being knocked out of the U23 Africa Cup of Nations after suffering a damaging defeat against host Egypt on Monday night.

Black Meteors threw away the lead twice to lose 3-2 to the Olympic Pharaohs at the Cairo International Stadium.

The defeat put the team in a difficult position to make the semi-finals. They have one point and are third behind leaders Egypt (6 points) and Cameroon (4 points).

Ghana can qualify if they beat already-eliminated Mali and Egypt win against Cameroon.

Black Meteors stunned Egypt in just the sixth minute when captain Yaw Yeboah prod home the opener from close range.

The lead lasted until the 17th-minute mark as Egypt equalised through striker Moustafa who headed home Ahmed Mohamed’s fine cross.

Ghana were back on top, a minute into the second half, this time through Samuel Obeng who capitalised on a weak back pass from Egypt centre-back Mohamed Abdelsalam to round the goalkeeper and put the ball into the back of the net.

Egypt appeared to have drawn level in the 55th minute but Sobhi’s rebound header was ruled out for offside.

They finally drew level on 82 minutes when Sobhi reacted quickly to slot home a rebound after poor goalkeeping from Kwame Baah.

The host continued to pile on the pressure and they deservedly fetched a deserved winner through Rayyan who rose high to head home from a Sobhi corner in the 88th minute.

Ghana tried to stage a last-minute fight-back but Egypt defended very well to claim three points and qualify for the last four.

The Black Meteors final group game is on Thursday against Mali.

This tournament is the final leg of qualifiers to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The top three finishers at the tournament will represent Africa in Japan.

Ghana last featured at the Olympic Games in 2004.

Source: Myjoyonline.com