That’s so harsh on Burkina Faso, who were the better team throughout the game. Egypt were passive for long periods, and far below their best, but held their nerve on penalties. The decision to make poor Hervé Koffi, Burkina’s 20-year-old goalkeeper, take the fourth penalty does not rank among tournament football’s finest.
Egypt won’t be bothered how they did it; they’re into the final, and still unbeaten at Afcon finals since 2004. Be sure to join Paul Doyle tomorrow to find out if they will play Cameroon or Ghana in the final. That’s all from me; thanks for reading.
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EGYPT WIN 4-3 ON PENALTIES!
Bertrand Traoré steps up, but El-Hadary goes the right way and saves! Egypt are going to the Africa Cup of Nations final!
Warda scores for Egypt! (Burkina Faso 3-4 Egypt)
Warda slots the ball in the bottom corner, and suddenly, Burkina Faso have to score...
Koffi misses for Burkina Faso! (Burkina Faso 3-3 Egypt)
The young Burkina keeper steps up to take the next one – and he’s denied by El-Hadary! Why, oh why, was he down to take one?
Salah scores for Egypt! (Burkina Faso 3-3 Egypt)
Salah’s penalty is excellent, pinging in off the foot of Koffi’s left-hand post...
Yago scores for Burkina Faso! (Burkina Faso 3-2 Egypt)
Yago finds the bottom corner, and Burkina are two spot-kicks away...
Hegazy scores for Egypt! (Burkina Faso 2-2 Egypt)
Ahmed Hegazy blasts his penalty into the roof of the net!
Diawara scores for Burkina Faso! (Burkina Faso 2-1 Egypt)
El-Hadary sent the wrong way as Diawara finds the right corner...
Sobhi scores for Egypt! (Burkina Faso 1-1 Egypt)
A poorly-executed Panenka that’s just beyond Koffi’s reach.
Alain Traore scores for Burkina Faso! (Burkina Faso 1-0 Egypt)
Traore strikes straight down the middle.
El-Said misses for Egypt! (Burkina Faso 0-0 Egypt)
El-Said’s kick is accurate but lacks power, and Koffi gets a strong right hand to keep it out, via the post!
Penalty shootout!
Here we go...
They love a penalty shootout in the Africa Cup of Nations...
Why Burkina Faso will win: They beat Ghana on penalties in the semi-final in 2013; Egypt have lost both of their previous shootouts.
Why Egypt will win: Essam El-Hadary made his Egypt debut in 1996, the same year Burkina goalkeeper Hervé Koffi was born.
End of extra time: Burkina Faso 1-1 Egypt
We’re going to penalties.
120 mins: One added minute. Bertrand Traore tries desperately to find a shooting angle, but is eventually swallowed up by a sea of red shirts.
119 mins: Mohamed Salah goes down under a heavy challenge, but the referee tells him to get up. That looked a foul to me, on the edge of the penalty area.
118 mins: Egypt amble upfield, but Salah’s cross swirls into Koffi’s arms. I think we’re going to penalties.
116 mins: Diawara and Nakoulma combine, and Hegazy hacks the latter down. Another chance for Burkina Faso – but the free kick is straight into the wall.
115 mins: Bertrand Traoré sees another cross cleared, as Burkina Faso continue to knock on the door.
113 mins: It’s worked long, then short, and back to Traoré, whose left-footed cross-shot flies across goal.
112 mins: Both teams are looking leggy now, with Burkina Faso still trying to make something happen. Nakoulma swings a cross in, and it goes behind for a corner, after an air kick from Gabr.
110 mins: Egypt are sitting deep, every player in their own half, and Burkina Faso may be running out of ideas.
109 mins: Kaboré is fortunate to escape a booking, and suspension from the final, for a lunge on Warda.
108 mins: Alain Traoré has taken up Bancé’s central role, and the ball bounces off him and into Nakoulma’s path – but he can’t quite get over it, volleying well over the bar!
106 mins: Elmohamady is off, replaced by Basel’s Omar Gaber. Purely a like-for-like swap, unless Gaber can hit a mean penalty.
Peep!
Hamstrings are stretched, instructions are barked, and we’re back in action.
Half-time in extra time: Burkina Faso 1-1 Egypt
Burkina Faso cannot have dreamed they would be so superior against the tournament favourites – but it’s still level, and penalties are 15 minutes away.
104 mins: Sobhi’s cross from the left is high towards Warda, who gets wedged beneath big Steeve Yago. He appeals for a penalty, but that would have been mighty soft.
103 mins: Bancé is going off, to the disappointment of Burkina’s fans, and myself. Alain Traoré, Bertrand’s brother, is on in his place.
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102 mins: Nakoulma twists and turns, but skews his shot wide of goal. He’s been very impressive, and Nantes have done well to sign him for free.
101 mins: Egypt beginning to get a foothold in the game, but Warda’s tricksy turn on the edge of the area doesn’t work, the ball pinging off his heel and behind for a goal kick.
99 mins: Egypt’s Gabr next into the book, as the yellow cards start to pile up.
Burkina Faso are a proper football team. Attacking and fluent, but not to undue cost. Impossible not to like them.
— Nick Ames (@NickAmes82) February 1, 2017
98 mins: Steeve (I repeat, Steeve) Yago is booked for pulling back Sobhi, who had got beyond him.
96 mins: Traore again causes Fathi trouble down the left, but is penalised for handball. Burkina Faso go again, with Diawara inches away from picking out Nakoulma in the middle. Gabr gets it away for a corner – roughly Burkina’s 27th of the match.
95 mins: A long ball almost catches the Burkina back line out, with Salah racing through – but Koffi comes steaming off his line to clear!
94 mins: Traoré gets beyond Fathi and slides a through ball to Bancé, who opts to shoot rather than cross, and only finds the side netting.
92 mins: Burkina are back on the front foot straight away, Nakoulma collecting a cross, but seeing his cut-back cleared.
Peep!
Here we go again...
Extra time means more from Jerry Parks!
“Highlights from my trip to Burkina Faso included the one night I spent in an empty 5-star hotel, complete with marble floors and ornate chandeliers, that was placed quite bizarrely in the middle of nowhere. For another 4-day stretch I stayed in a place that only offered lettuce and hard-boiled eggs as meals, and where the only television channel we received just played re-runs of The New Adventures of Superman or Keeping Up With the Kardashians (both dubbed in French).”
“I also learned that many of the roads in Burkina were built by the North Koreans, of all people, which is why their flag is plastered all over buildings and signs in the countryside. Also, in Bobo-Dioulasso, public incontinence is apparently a major municipal issue as there are “Urination Strictly Prohibited” signs posted on every wall and building. And in the Ougadougou airport I spent some time chatting with the Burkinabe Under-21 team, who were on their way to Senegal for a friendly.”
Here’s a nice interview from Nick Ames, chatting to Ahmed Elmohamady about what winning this tournament would mean for Egypt:
Full time: Burkina Faso 1-1 Egypt
We’re going to extra time, after Aristide Bancé’s goal cancelled out Mohamed Salah’s opener.
93 mins: El-Hadary gets a touch on the corner, and we’re heading for extra time.
92 mins: Burkina Faso still pushing for a winner – and Kabore’s through ball is flicked on by Diawara. El-Hadary is out of position, but gets back to tip it over!
91 mins: Three minutes of extra time, as El-Hadary gets treatment after taking a knock from Yago.
90 mins: Burkina Faso’s turn to win a free kick, 25 yards out, left of goal. Bancé is over it... and his low shot skids under the wall, but El-Hadary gets behind it, and hangs onto it.
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89 mins: Bancé is still making a nuisance of himself – as my colleague Rob Bleaney put it, he’s the Burkinabé Steve Claridge.
88 mins: Warda wins a free kick, then gets up to meet a cross – but he can’t get above his marker, and Koffi collects his looping effort.
86 mins: Sobhi slots seamlessly into Egypt’s wily line-up, forcing Traore into a clumsy foul, and a booking.
85 mins: Trezeguet, who has faded from the game, is replaced by Stoke City’s Ramadan Sobhi.
84 mins: Warda hits a speculator from 30 yards out that fizzes beyond Koffi’s top corner. Five minutes for either side to find a winner...
81 mins: Burkina Faso still look the more likely going forward, with Nakoulma testing El-Hadary at his near post. The keeper bundles it behind for a corner, which is cleared.
79 mins: Toure’s attempted pass to Bancé is misjudged, and trickles away for a goal kick. Danou Diawara, a striker who plays for Egyptian side Smouha, is on for Razack. Could we see an Ahn Yung-wan situation?
77 mins: Egypt left-back Fathi is down getting treatment after falling awkwardly. It looks like a shoulder injury.
75 mins: Traore concedes a cheap free kick, upending Tarek. For Egypt, Warda replaces Kahraba.
The crowd goes wild... Egypt 1 Burkina Faso 1 #cantotal2017 #footballtogether #bfaegy pic.twitter.com/kdgKBixWoZ
— Ameyaw Debrah (@ameyaw112) February 1, 2017
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72 mins: Captain Kabore bustled down the right, collected Yago’s smart backheel, and his cross found its way to Bancé, who chested the ball down and rifled it into the corner. Game on!
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GOAL! Burkina Faso 1-1 Egypt (Bancé)
Egypt’s defence has finally been breached by Aristide Bancé!
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70 mins: Another corner, but Egypt deal with it, and El-Hadary collects ahead of Razack when the ball is heaved back into the box.
69 mins: Burkina Faso take a short corner. Now is really not the time.
68 mins: Burkina Faso have had the stuffing knocked out of them here, but they force a corner off goalscorer Salah.
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GOAL! Burkina Faso 0-1 Egypt (Mohamed Salah)
The more Burkina Faso pressed, the more this felt oddly inevitable. It’s a fantastic finish from Salah, controlling Kahraba’s knock down and finding the top corner with his left foot!
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64 mins: Burkina Faso have shifted to a 4-4-2, with Nakoulma up front and Traore and Razack out wide. Egypt still happy to sit deep...
61 mins: Touré, not so much off balance as mid-somersault, tries a long shot that may well have cleared the stand.
“Howdy Niall,” says Jerry Parks. “I have nothing of great import to add to your MBM other than to say that a) I once spent a surreal two weeks on a road trip across Burkina Faso and it’s quite a lovely country and b) Here’s a clip of Homer Simpson incredulously pronouncing said country’s name.”
Tell us more about this road trip, Jerry...
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58 mins: Traoré shows a clean pair of heels to Salah in midfield, and sets up Bancé, who forces a corner, from which Razack’s low cross is collected by El-Hadary. Burkina Faso still in the ascendancy.
57 mins: Lovely stuff from Nakoulma, who moves infield, plays the ball to Hegazy’s right, runs to the left, and gets there in time to flick a cross towards Bancé. El-Hadary gets a hand to it, and collects the rebound.
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56 mins: Another Egyptian attack breaks down in short order, as the front three struggle to get anything going.
55 mins: Kahraba catches Dayo with a stray elbow, and is booked. That means he’ll miss the final, if Egypt get through – a harsh punishment for what looked an accidental transgression.
53 mins: Ibrahim Salah, with options in the middle, hits a shocker of a half-volley miles over the bar.
52 mins: Nakoulma edges into the box, and smacks his shot straight into Gabr’s chest. He then has the temerity to appeal for handball, which the referee waves away.
51 mins: Burkina Faso coach Paulo Duarte is encouraged by this start to the second half. Nakoulma wins another corner with a bit of trickery down the left...
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49 mins: Traore smashes a shot through Egypt’s dissolving wall, but El-Hadary awkwardly shovels it behind. He doesn’t do things the easy way, and again flaps at the corner, but again his defenders help him out.
48 mins: Trezeguet is too casual on the ball, and Steeve (yes, Steeve) Yago strips him of possession and launches a long pass towards Bancé. Gabr handles the ball on the edge of the box, and Burkina Faso have another dangerous free kick...
46 mins: An early free kick for Burkina Faso, and the big central defenders head upfield – but Traore’s cross is underhit.
Peep!
The referee gets us back under way.
Manchester City lead 1-0 at West Ham, but come on, let’s focus here. This is international football! The teams are heading out of the tunnel, Burkina Faso players chatting away, Egypt forming a more furtive huddle before kick-off.
By the way, the winner of this tournament – and it could well be one of these two – will complete the line-up for this summer’s Confederations Cup in Russia. Seems unfair to punish the winners like that, but there we go.
Nick Miller is watching West Ham v Manchester City, if you like that sort of mainstream filth:
Half time: Burkina Faso 0-0 Egypt
Goalless at half time, with Burkina Faso the more impressive, but struggling to create clear-cut chances – although Egypt have gone close on the counter too. Back shortly.
45 mins: Coulibaly is fine to continue, and we’ll have one minute of added time to account for the stoppage.
44 mins: Coulibaly has been hurt in a collision with his own team-mate, Málaga’s Bakary Koné. Regrettable for all concerned.
42 mins: El-Hadary, despite a couple of hairy moments, has now passed 10 hours of Afcon competition without conceding a goal.
41 mins: Traoré’s free kick flies a few feet over the bar. Burkina Faso could really have done with making their chances count in this first half.
39 mins: Razack slaloms between two Egypt midfielders, but his shot from 18 yards lacks power. Burkina Faso keep pressing, and Fathi is booked for obstructing Traoré...
38 mins: The pitch, which is firm to say the least, almost does for Koffi, as Kahraba’s snap shot bounces awkwardly. The 20-year-old keeper just about claws it away from goal.
36 mins: Kahraba wins a corner, which Salah angles towards Trezeguet – but his header back across goal is collected by Koffi.
35 mins: Burkina Faso like their long shots; this time, Bancé’s knock down is lashed on the half-volley from Nakoulma. It’s close, but not that close.
Burkina Faso a compelling mix of physicality and fluidity. On top here but nagging sense Egypt will have the counterpunch.
— Nick Ames (@NickAmes82) February 1, 2017
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33 mins: Jonathan Pitroipa, thought to be out injured for this game, is on the bench and kitted out. Bertrand Traoré steps forward and shoots from distance, but it’s easy for El-Hadary.
31 mins: Gabr does well to flick the free kick away from Bancé, before Burkinabé captain Kabore heaves a cross onto the running track into the wide open space behind the goal.
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29 mins: Hector Cuper has a few words for his Egyptian players, with their opponents getting the upper hand again. Touré, uncapped before this tournament, is brought down by Hamed in a promising position...
28 mins: Blati Toure, a tidy presence at the front of midfield for Burkina Faso, sees his diagonal ball to Nakoulma deflected behind for a corner. El-Hadary flaps again, but gets away with it.
26 mins: After an encouraging start, the nerves are kicking in, resulting in a scrappy spell of play.
24 mins: Coulibaly gets forward down the left, but sees his low cross scrambled clear. Burkina Faso win it back, and Bancé finds himself well marked, with his back to goal. He flicks the ball up, and fires an overhead kick wide. Absolute box office, this guy.
22 mins: Egypt haven’t lost an Afcon semi-final since 1984, and haven’t been beaten by a sub-Saharan side since 2002. History is not on Burkina Faso’s side.
20 mins: After a deceptively sluggish start, Egypt are on top now, Trezeguet almost picking out Salah with a crafty backheel.
18 mins: Diedhiou fails to live up to his ‘Senegalese Mike Dean’ billing, waving away a penalty after Kahraba goes down easily in the area, under pressure from Kone.
17 mins: Egypt break down the other end, and Trezeguet collects Kahraba’s pass, before curling his shot inches wide of the far post! I make that one near miss each.
16 mins: Bancé collects the ball 30 yards out and, seeing a lack of options ahead of him, lashes a shot at goal. It flies three feet wide of the post, but the fans enjoyed it.
14 mins: Trezeguet disrupts a spell of Burkina Faso passing and darts upfield, but he’s let down by a lack of support.
12 mins: A long ball towards Salah, stationed out on the right, drifts beyond the goal-line.
10 mins: The first real attack from Egypt, but Mohamed Salah’s hooked cross is just beyond centre-forward Kahraba, who scored the winner against Morocco.
8 mins: Traore’s cross from the right is deflected high in the air, and El-Hadary flaps at it. Blati Touré tries to lift the ball over the goalkeeper, but Ali Gabr is there to head off the line!
6 mins: Nakoulma skips down the left, but his cut back is straight at El-Hadary, with options limited. Nakoulma got himself a deadline day move yesterday, joining Nantes. Good for him.
Referee news:
The referee for tonight's Cup of Nations SF between Burkina Faso and Egypt is Malang Diedhiou, the Senegalese Mike Dean.
— Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) February 1, 2017
4 mins: Razack hits a sliced shot from 25 yards which El-Hadary gets down well to hold. The outsiders have made the stronger start.
3 mins: Egypt, in red shirts and black shorts, try and launch a break down the left through Hassan, known as ‘Trezeguet’ for his perceived likeness to the French striker.
1 min: Burkina Faso, decked out in all white, stroke the ball around, before Bancé draws cheers by holding it up smartly. Egypt sit deep and scramble it away.
Peep!
We’re off! The stadium isn’t full, but there’s plenty of noise from both sets of supporters.
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Anthems time! Burkina Faso’s is a stately number that’s only 33 years old:
Egypt’s anthem, ‘Bilady’ is a little more stirring:
There are a couple of notable veterans whose personal battle might decide this one. Egypt’s goalkeeper, 44-year-old Essam El-Hadary, is yet to concede a goal all tournament. Facing him is the recalled Burkinabé striker, Aristide Bancé. The man with the bleached blond lid made the breakthrough against Tunisia, and is looking to top a career that’s passed through Belgium, Ukraine, Germany, UAE, Finland, Latvia and many more with an Afcon trophy.
Team news
Burkina Faso: Koffi; Yago, Koné, Dayo, Coulibaly; Blati Touré, Razack, Kabore; Bertrand Traoré, Bancé, Nakoulma.
Subs from: Sawadogo, Paro, Malo, Saré, Diawara, Alain Traoré, Guira, Koanda, Bayala, Sanou, Pitroipa.
Egypt: El Hadary; Elmohamady, Gabr, Hegazy, Fathi; Ibrahim Salah, Hamed, El Said; Kahraba, Mahmoud Hassan, Mohamed Salah.
Subs from: Sayed, Gad, Ahmed Hassan, Hafez, Duiedar, Shafy, Sobhi, Ekramy, Saad, Warda.
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Preamble
In this tournament, an unwritten rule has held for over a decade: when Egypt are in it, they win it. The Pharoahs are unbeaten in the final stages since 2004, but followed a hat-trick of titles from 2006-10 with three qualifying exits. On their return, Héctor Cúper’s team have picked up where they left off, with three wins, one draw and no goals conceded en route to the semi-finals.
Egypt face Burkina Faso, who emerged as winners from a closely-fought Group A before outgunning Tunisia in the last eight. With heavyweights Cameroon and Ghana meeting in Thursday’s second semi-final, the Stallions may be the outsiders, but rewrote an underwhelming tournament record by reaching the final in 2013, before narrowly losing out to Nigeria.
Burkina Faso will look to veteran striker Aristide Bancé, supported by Chelsea loanee Bertrand Traoré, with Egypt reliant on that stingy defence, and the trickery of Roma’s Mohamed Salah. With Ivory Coast, Senegal and Algeria already out, both sides have a puncher’s chance of taking the trophy. Kick-off is at 7pm, GMT.
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