Egypt advances to AFCON second round with Nile Valley derby win

CAIRO-20 January 2022: The Egyptians booked their place in the second round of 2021 Africa Cup of Nations after defeating Sudan 1-0 in the Nile Valley derby on Wednesday night in Yaounde. 

The Pharaohs wrapped up their group stage run with a narrow victory to finish as group runners-up behind Nigeria, who defeated Guinea-Bissau 2-0, securing the top spot of the group.

For the second game in a row, Mohamed Salah and his teammates had the upper hand in the game and created many chances but they were not sharp enough to find the back of the net and score more goals. 

Mohamed Abdelmonem's sensational header in the last minutes of the first half gave Egypt the three points and their eyes are now on Thursday's matches in group E to know their opponent in the next round.

Egypt will face the leader of Group E, which contains Algeria, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone.

The current situation of the group was never expected before the start of the competition as the Algerians, the title holders, are going into their last group stage match with only one point, leaving them with no option but winning over Ivory Coast to avoid an early exit. 

The Ivorians are atop of the group with four points, Equatorial Guinea comes second with three points, one point above Sierra Leone and the four teams still have chances to advance to the second round.