Egypt 2 - Ghana 1

Photo by Khaled Desouki

Egypt were looking to overturn a 6-1 deficit from the first leg at home in Cairo.  Ghana were looking to finish the job they had begun a month prior.  Twenty-five minutes into the first half, Egypt were finally able to break down the ultra-defensive play of Ghana.  A Mohamed Aboutrika free kick was played perfectly onto the six-yard box.  Ghana goalkeeper Fatawu Dauda came off his line, but he could not reach the ball as Amr Zaki won the header and finished for a 1-0 lead.  With such a massive lead on the aggregate scoreboard, Ghana never pushed for the equalizing goal.  Egypt led only 1-0 at halftime.

Ghana were dealt a heavy blow when Andre Ayew (pictured, white) was taken off the field with a torn knee ligament close to the hour mark.  Egyptian fans took to throwing flares onto the field of play late in the second half.  Egypt only managed to attain a second goal with six minutes left in regulation.  Mohamed Salah drew attention at the top of the box, so he passed ahead to Gedo.  Gedo finished from an angle to make it 2-0, but it was to be too little too late for the Pharaohs to salvage their tournament lives.  In fact, with Egypt really opening up in search of three more goals, Ghana stole one of their own in the dying minutes.  Harrison Afful took a chance with a through ball up the right side of defense, and Asamoah Gyan read the play perfectly.  Gyan broke through the backline and had a simple pass across goal to make.  He did, and Kevin-Prince Boateng tapped in to finish off the series.  Egypt salvage some pride with the 2-1 victory today, but they lose 7-3 on aggregate and are eliminated from the 2014 FIFA World Cup.  Ghana are the twenty-fifth team to advance to Brasil 2014.

Goals:
Egypt
Amr Zaki 25
Gedo 84

Ghana
Kevin-Prince Boateng 89

Match Reports:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24987039
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2014/article-2510128/Egypt-2-Ghana-1-Black-Stars-reach-World-Cup-running.html
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=2225273/index.html
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/nov/19/ghana-egypt-world-cup-qualifier

Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsJPBVOR-fc