CAIRO – Egypt crushed South Africa 3-0 in their Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations semifinal in Cairo on Tuesday evening.
The two finalists (Ivory Coast and Egypt) automatically qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but SA still have a chance to grab the last remaining spot if they win their third place play-off match against Ghana, in Cairo, on Friday.
Against Egypt, SA’s first chance at goal came in the opening minute when they were awarded a free kick just outside the box.
Teboho Mokoena stepped up to take it, but missed the near top corner by a fraction.
Egypt had a few chances of their own too, however, also lacked a finishing touch to bury them in the opening stanza.
Fulltime 🇿🇦 0 ⚽ 🇪🇬 3.
South Africa will face Ghana on 22 November at Cairo Stadium for a 3rd/4th place finish.
— SAFA.net (@SAFA_net) November 19, 2019
In the second half, Egypt were awarded a penalty in the 59th minute which Ramadan Sobhi converted to make it 1-0.
Abdelrahman Magdy picked up a brace in the closing stages, scoring in the 84th and 88th minutes to seal a comprehensive scoreline for the hosts.