The 2023 CAF AFCON Champions Cote D’Ivoire’s quest to successfully defend their title is over after getting eliminated in the 2025 edition at the quarterfinals stage.
Cote D’Ivoire lost 3-2 to Egypt with Egyptian star players Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush scoring in the win that qualifies the record winners to the semifinals.
Marmoush scored the game’s opening goal in the fourth minute; Salah received the Man of the Match Award after scoring the crucial third goal for Egypt which is his fourth overall in the competition.
Egypt take on Senegal next on Wednesday, January 14 at 17:00 GMT in a game that reunites Salah with his former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane who is the captain for Senegal.
Speaking after the loss, Fae, who guided Cote D’Ivoire to win the 2023 title in extraordinary circumstances, was disappointed with the result and blamed the loss on his team’s mistakes.
“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.”
“I regret conceding the first goal so early, as well as the second. It’s hard to explain these lapses in concentration” Fae said to CAF.
