Cape Verde eliminated despite Egypt draw

Cape Verde fought back to hold Egypt to a 1-1 draw in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group C match at the Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde on Friday night.

The result saw the Blues Sharks' hopes of qualifying for the Afcon finals fade away as they remained third in the group standings - three points behind second-placed Botswana who have a better head-to-head record.

Cape Verde will be away to Mauritania on Tuesday.

The Pharaohs, on the other hand, saw their 100 per cent win record in Group C snapped, but the group leaders came into the game having already qualified for the finals.

 Egypt will be looking to wrap up their qualifying campaign with a victory when they play host to Botswana on Tuesday.

The first real chance of the match fell for Osama Faisal who went one-on-one with goalkeeper Bruno Varela just 11 minutes into the encounter, but the Zamalek attacker stumbled on the ball.

Bruno then pulled off a decent save to deny Mahmoud Saber in the 28th minute as pressure mounted on the Blue Sharks.

The visitors deservedly took the lead through Taher Mohamed in the 31st minute and Egypt were 1-0 up at halftime.

The Blue Sharks were the better side after the restart as they pushed for the equalising goal.

Cape Verde's record goalscorer Ryan Mendes was the man who made it 1-1 in the 63rd minute from the penalty spot after he was fouled by Mohamed Saber in the box.

Former Manchester United forward Bebe was introduced by the Blue Sharks in the 83rd minute as the home side looked to snatch a late winning goal.

However, the Pharaohs stood firm at the back and. ultimately, the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Cape Verde (0) 1 (Ryan Mendes 63')

Egypt (1) 1 (Taher Mohamed 31')

Cape Verde: Bruno Varela, Steven Moreira, Logan Costa, Roberto Lopes, João Paulo - Jamiro Monteiro (Varela H 72'), Deroy Duarte (Andrade 46'), Kevin Lenini, Ryan Mendes (Bebe 83'), Gilson Tavares (Livramento 46'), Jovane Cabral (Duarte L 72')

Egypt: Mohamed El Shenawy, Mohamed Hamdy, Mohamed Rabia, Hamdy Fathy, Ahmed Eid, Mohamed Shehata (Dunga 6'), Mahmoud Saber (Fathi M 69'), Ahmed Nabil Kouka, Taher Mohamed, Osama Faisal (Mostafa M 84'), Ibrahim Adel (Mohamed A.R 84').