Egypt suffer heavy 4-1 defeat to Sierra Leone in U-20 AFCON - National Teams
Hosts Egypt suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Sierra Leone in their Group A second-round clash at the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday.
Ahmed Khaled opened the scoring for the young Pharaohs in first-half stoppage time, but midfielder Momoh Kamara netted a hat-trick and Sallieu Bah added a penalty to seal a memorable comeback for Sierra Leone.
Egypt U-20 team entered the game on the back of a slim 1-0 win over South Africa on Sunday, while Sierra Leone were held to a goalless draw against Zambia.
Egypt started brightly, applying early pressure, but struggled to carve out clear chances. However, Sierra Leone grew into the game, launching dangerous counterattacks against the hosts.
Sierra Leone thought they had taken the lead in the 24th minute through Sulaiman Kargbo, but the goal was disallowed for offside following a VAR review.
Both sides traded half-chances until Khaled, nicknamed 'Kabaka', latched onto Mohamed El-Sayed's through ball to tap home from close range in stoppage time, sending Egypt into the break with a 1-0 advantage.
Seven minutes after the restart, Egypt coach Osama Nabih introduced Mohamed Raafat and Seif El-Deen Essam to inject fresh energy, but the substitutions failed to stem Sierra Leone's momentum.
Kamara leveled in the 63rd minute with a curling left-footed strike from the edge of the box, then completed his brace three minutes later, slotting home from close range after a defensive lapse.
Sierra Leone extended their lead when the VAR awarded a penalty for a handball by Egypt defender Ahmed Samir, with Bah converting emphatically in the 79th minute.
Kamara completed his hat-trick deep into stoppage time, firing a clinical left-footed shot into the net from distance following a rapid counterattack.
The result sends Sierra Leone top of Group A with four points, while Egypt drop to third on three points, level with second-placed South Africa, who edged Tanzania 1-0 earlier on Wednesday, with the Young Bafana Bafana holding the advantage on goal difference.
Up next, the young Pharaohs will face a do-or-die game against Zambia on Saturday if they want to advance to the next stage, as the top two teams in each group, along with the two best third-placed sides, will progress to the quarter-finals.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
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