Côte d’Ivoire beat Ghana 3-2 on post-match penalties following a 2-2 draw after extra time at the Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday to progress to the final of the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
Youssouf Dao opened the scoring in the 13th minute for the Ivorians who held onto their lead until the 51st minute when Yaw Yeboah equalized for the Ghanaians.
Dao restored Côte d’Ivoire’s advantage with five minutes of normal time left but Evans Mensah scored a dramatic leveler in stoppage time to send the game into extra time.
Neither side was able to break the deadlock in the subsequent 30 minutes sending the game into a penalty shootout.
In the shootout, Côte d’Ivoire converted three of its four efforts while Ghana had three out of its five spot-kicks saved by Ivorian keeper Eliezer Tape with Owusu Kwabena missing the decisive fifth kick which would have given Ghana some hope.
By progressing to the final, Côte d’Ivoire also becomes the first African team to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics football tournament.
It will be the second time Côte d’Ivoire is participating in the Olympic Games.
Egypt, hosts of the tournament, plays South Africa in the second semifinal later on Tuesday.
The two finalists and the winner of the third-place playoff will qualify to represent Africa at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, next year.
