Egypt, the defending champion, defeated Mali 1-0 on Wednesday to earn their first victory at the TotalEnergies U23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023 in Morocco.
The Pharaohs triumph in the match that took place in Group B of the competition at the Grand Stade in Tangier against two strategically proficient teams.
Ibrahim Mohamed Adel, the team captain and scorer of Egypt’s opening goal in the game, gave the Egyptians control in the 10th minute as they adopted a more aggressive and forward-focused style of play.
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The third-highest goal scorer in the Egyptian league, Adel, a forward for Pyramids FC, celebrated his fifth goal of the year.
Mali was given a free kick in the 18th minute. Mamadou Sangaré, who had scored against Gabon to celebrate his 21st birthday, came up to take the shot, but the Egyptian defense was able to deflect it.
The contest in Tangier was entertaining and lively, with constant attacking moves from both teams.
The statistics showed that the Egyptians had a small lead at the end of the first half.
Ahmed Eid was cautioned for elbowing Traoré early in the second half and will now be suspended from the following game.
The nature of the game changed, making it more closed and fractured with more fouls, notably Mamady Diambou’s obstruction.
The defensive midfielder for Salzburg was dismissed after receiving a second caution. With only ten men left, Mali was forced to use their reserves in an uphill battle.
The Pharaohs generated chances by taking advantage of the openings that the Malian defense left. In the 70th minute, Adel passed the ball to Ahmed Nabil Koka, who took a shot but saw the ball cleared off the goal line by the tenacious Malian defenders.
Badra Aliou Cissé’s men made an effort, although their play was unoriginal.
Just before the end of regular time, they had a great chance, but Ibrahima Cissé’s header went wide. The final score did not change.
With four points, Egypt surpasses its rivals to take the lead in Group B and puts itself favorably before the second group game between Niger and Gabon.