The injured Mohamed Salah won’t be able to feature in the Africa Cup of Nations after his Egypt side were knocked out of the event on Sunday in a dramatic penalty shoot-out against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Record seven-time champions Egypt went down 8-7 on penalties against the Congolese after their last-16 match ended 1-1 at the end of extra time.
Meschack Elia gave DR Congo the lead in the Ivorian coastal city of San-Pedro in the 37th minute but Mostafa Mohamed equalised for Egypt from the penalty spot in first-half injury time.
Egypt’s Mohamed Hamdy was sent off for a second booking in the first half of extra time.
Mohamed couldn’t convert with the Pharaohs´ second kick, but Arthur Masuaku then fluffed the Leopards´ next attempt.
Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal missed Egypt´s ninth penalty, and Congolese keeper Lionel Mpasi made no mistake to take DR Congo through to the quarter-finals.
The loss is a setback for the Egyptians, who had touched down in Ivory Coast hoping to win a first Cup of Nations since 2010, a year before Salah made his senior international debut.
However, they could only register three draws, and lost the Liverpool superstar to a hamstring injury in their second game against Ghana.
Salah returned to his club to continue treatment, in the hope of being able to return for the knockout stage of the competition, but now his dream of clinching the title with his country remains on hold.
Meanwhile, it is the first time DR Congo have won a knockout tie at the event since reaching the last four in 2015.
"We practised penalties a lot in training over the last few days and I knew I would need to be ready," Mpasi, the former Paris Saint-Germain youngster now playing for Rodez in the French second tier, told broadcaster Canal Plus Afrique.
"When I saw Gabaski shoot, we were looking each other in the eyes and I could see he looked a bit nervous.
"When I put the ball on the spot I just tried to stay calm. I thought about the last penalty I took in training and luckily it went well."