Egypt vs Ghana - LIVE!

Egypt and Ghana are still in danger of suffering early Africa Cup of Nations exits after a 2-2 draw in their heavyweight group-stage encounter. Ghana must win their final group-stage match against Mozambique if they are to avoid a second-straight group-stage exit, while Egypt have left themselves work to do too in their final match against Cape Verde.

It was a fairly turgid 45 minutes as the two sides cancelled each other out, until a dramatic spell changed the complexion of the match heading into the break. Mohamed Salah went down off the ball in stoppage-time and it was immediately clear he could not continue, as he seemingly held his hamstring. The Liverpool forward handed over the captain's armband and was forced off in a major blow for Egypt. And it got worse almost immediately, as Ghana took the lead. Mohammed Kudus, back in the starting lineup after a hamstring injury of his own, rifled a strike into the net from just outside the area, with what was the first real bit of quality in the whole match.

Chances remained at a premium, until the Black Stars gifted Egypt an equaliser. Inaki Williams' awful back pass was pounced upon by Omar Marmoush, who went round the goalkeeper and found the empty net. Ghana edged back in front within seconds of the restart through a familiar source. Denis Odoi played the ball inside, Kudus was allowed to get a shot away and it found the far corner, with the help of a deflection. The chaos continued, with a third goal in the space of five minutes. Again Ghana got themselves into trouble when Osman Bukari, just on for Williams, dribbled into his own box and was robbed by Trezeguet, who squared for Mostafa Mohamed to finish.

Egypt vs Ghana latest news

• GOAL! Mohamed gets Egypt level again

• GOAL! Kudus restores lead within a minute

• GOAL! Marmoush pounces on Williams error

• GOAL! Kudus fires Ghana in front before HT

• Salah forced off with injury in huge blow to Egypt

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22:40 , Matt Verri

Egypt and Ghana are still in danger of suffering early Africa Cup of Nations exits after a 2-2 draw in their heavyweight group-stage encounter.

The biggest concern for Egypt will be an injury to Mohamed Salah, who came off in first-half stoppage-time and just before Mohamed Kudus opened the scoring.

The West Ham forward got on the scoresheet again after the break, either side of equalisers from Omar Marmoush and Mostafa Mohamed.

Read our full report here!

Strong return for Kudus

22:11 , Matt Verri

Back in the side, back in the goals and Mohammed Kudus has been named man of the match.

Ghana are going to need plenty more of that against Mozambique in their final group match.

The fourth and final goal!

22:06 , Matt Verri

An absolutely chaotic spell in that second half...

FT: Egypt 2-2 Ghana

21:59 , Matt Verri

They got it too - El Shenawy flying off his line, nowhere near the ball but Ghana can't take advantage. Baba heads wide.

And there's the full-time whistle.

Kudus with the brace, Salah with the injury... and both these sides are in danger of an early exit!

Egypt 2-2 Ghana

21:58 , Matt Verri

90+7 mins: Ashour drives into the box, curling effort is a fairly tame one. Saved. Egyptian bench were already on the pitch, ready to celebrate.

Ghana win a corner. One. More. Chance.

Egypt 2-2 Ghana

21:56 , Matt Verri

90+5 mins: Semenyo plays the ball across the face of goal, claimed by El Shenawy.

It is Ghana coming on strong in these final minutes...

Egypt 2-2 Ghana

21:53 , Matt Verri

90+2 mins: Seven minutes added on!

Ghana having a better spell in the Egypt half, as they look to create one more chance.

Egypt 2-2 Ghana

21:51 , Matt Verri

89 mins: Bukari is off for Ghana - he only came on about 15 minutes ago! Shambles of a cameo, he was at fault for that second Egypt goal.

Is there still time for some late drama?

Egypt 2-2 Ghana

21:48 , Matt Verri

86 mins: Trezeguet lines up a shot from distance, blocked. Comes back to him, he tries to drive into the box but he's crowded out.

Now Ghana break away into space, but it's superb work from Ashour to slide in and win the ball back.

Egypt 2-2 Ghana

21:45 , Matt Verri

83 mins: Samed has gone down and he's been lifted onto a stretcher - fair to say his night is over.

Oh, or not. He just wanted a lift to the sidelines. Fair enough. He's back on.

Egypt 2-2 Ghana

21:42 , Matt Verri

80 mins: Shame about that cooling break - it's calmed things down a bit.

Before that, the match had become completely chaotic. More structure back in place now.

Egypt 2-2 Ghana

21:39 , Matt Verri

77 mins: Cooling break down, match is back up and running.

Both sides will feel they can win this match - the defending has suddenly become very shaky!

GOAL! Egypt 2-2 Ghana | Mostafa Mohamed 74'

21:36 , Matt Verri

IT'S LEVEL AGAIN!

This is insane.

Trezeguet does brilliantly in the build-up, Bukari robbed in his own box.

Squared for Mohamed, who pokes the finish into the back of the net.

Egypt 1-2 Ghana

21:35 , Matt Verri

73 mins: Now what?

This match is delivering at last and we've still got 20 minutes to go.

Bukari is on to replace Williams, who is now feeling much better about life after that goal.

GOAL! Egypt 1-2 Ghana | Mohammed Kudus 71'

21:33 , Matt Verri

AND IT ONLY LASTS A MATTER OF SECONDS!

Ghana straight up the other end, Odoi plays it inside to Kudus and his strike takes a deflection, finding the far corner.

GOAL! Egypt 1-1 Ghana | Omar Marmoush 69'

21:31 , Matt Verri

EGYPT ARE LEVEL!

It's an absolutely awful back pass from Williams, Marmoush pounces and goes round the goalkeeper, finishing into an empty net.

Egypt 0-1 Ghana

21:29 , Matt Verri

68 mins: Elneny's night is over. Trezeguet is on to replace the Arsenal midfielder.

Egypt with no choice but to go for it now - looks like Ashour is going to drop deeper.

Egypt 0-1 Ghana

21:26 , Matt Verri

65 mins: It's taken more than an hour, but this match is starting to open up at long last.

Space for Egypt to break into, before Marmoush cuts inside and fires over the bar.

Egypt 0-1 Ghana

21:25 , Matt Verri

64 mins: Semenyo doing his best to wind down the clock and wind up the Egyptian players.

Stops a free-kick being taken quickly, earns himself a shove from Fathi and Elneny.

Egypt 0-1 Ghana

21:22 , Matt Verri

61 mins: Chaos in the Ghana box!

Ball cut back towards Fathi, bodies flying in everywhere before the Black Stars scramble it away.

Ghana dropping further and further back.

Egypt 0-1 Ghana

21:19 , Matt Verri

58 mins: Egypt having a good spell, as they push for an equaliser.

Marmoush keeps drifting inside, desperately trying to find space for a shot on his right foot. Chance looks to have gone, until he lashes a strike at goal from a tight angle. Tipped over.

Corner comes to nothing for Egypt.

Egypt 0-1 Ghana

21:17 , Matt Verri

56 mins: How on earth has Odoi avoided a booking there?

Already made a couple of fouls in the first-half, he now drags Marmoush back and then trips him for good measure. Just a warning.

Egypt 0-1 Ghana

21:14 , Matt Verri

53 mins: Well we're getting a long VAR check. No replays though, helpfully.

After everyone waits around looking confused for a couple of minutes, it's confirmed as offside.

GOOO.... OFFSIDE!

21:13 , Matt Verri

52 mins: Egypt have the ball in the back of the net, but it won't count.

Ball clipped into the box, squared for Abdelmonem and he turns it home from close range.

Whistle has gone though, a couple of players were offside initially.

Egypt 0-1 Ghana

21:11 , Matt Verri

50 mins: Good work from Semenyo out wide, wins a corner for Ghana. Ayew to take.

Put in right on top of the goalkeeper, El Shenawy palms it away.

Only as far as Kudus on the edge of the box, who sends a volley onto the roof of the net.

Egypt 0-1 Ghana

21:10 , Matt Verri

48 mins: Ghana playing with a lot more confidence already, now they have the lead.

Kudus with another driving run, this time he's bundled to the ground.

Back underway!

21:07 , Matt Verri

Second-half is up and running.

First-half stats

20:59 , Matt Verri

Egypt had more possession, with 56% of the ball.

Not a lot to shout about when it comes to shots - two for Ghana, one for Egypt.

It's never a great sign when you can remember every shot in a match. An optimistic Kudus effort from distance, a tame Ashour strike, and that Kudus goal.

Some finish!

20:55 , Matt Verri

The first bit of quality in the whole match and it brought the opening goal. Wonderful from Kudus.

HT: Egypt 0-1 Ghana

20:52 , Matt Verri

Well that all got very dramatic.

After basically 45 minutes of nothing, the match burst into life.

Salah has limped off for Egypt, remains to be seen how serious that injury blow is.

And Kudus then marked his return to the side with a wonderful strike.

GOAL! Egypt 0-1 Ghana | Mohammed Kudus 45+3'

20:49 , Matt Verri

AND THAT REALLY ADDS TO EGYPT'S PROBLEMS!

Ghana take the lead in first-half stoppage time and it's a stunning strike.

Kudus back in the side and he delivers for the Black Stars, rifling in from distance.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:48 , Matt Verri

45+2 mins: The Egyptian players look a bit stunned.

Salah has handed over the captain's armband and he's walking off - knows he can't continue.

What a massive blow that is.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:47 , Matt Verri

45 mins: Well this could be disastrous for Egypt.

Salah is down, he's holding the back of his leg and looking really annoyed.

Four minutes added on - Egypt won't be paying any attention to that.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:45 , Matt Verri

44 mins: A shot!

Brilliant ball in from Egypt, Odoi does just about enough at the back post to survive the scare.

It falls for Ashour, who clips a shot straight at Ofori. We'll take it.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:44 , Matt Verri

43 mins: Match briefly kicks into life, Ashimeru with a lovely turn and he then drives at the Egypt defence.

Runs into trouble though, loses the ball. Salah looks to counter, but he's surrounded by three white shirts and tripped up.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:41 , Matt Verri

40 mins: Or not.

Marmoush with a poor ball in, cleared away at the near post.

Five minutes for either side to do something, ANYTHING in attack before half-time.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:39 , Matt Verri

38 mins: Dangerous run from Marmoush, until Samed just shoves him to the ground. Yellow card, not sure why he's trying to argue with that decision.

Chance for Egypt to put something dangerous into the middle...

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:37 , Matt Verri

36 mins: Back up and running - match still really being played at walking pace.

Ball put into the Ghana box, Djiku basically clears it straight up. Ashour unable to make the most of that though, runs out of play under pressure.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:34 , Matt Verri

33 mins: Hold up, we now have an official water break. The one a few minutes ago was more impromptu.

Another stoppage is not really what we needed, unless the two coaches have some words to inspire both sides in attack.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:32 , Matt Verri

31 mins: Even Salah is scuffing the ball, barely making contact as he looks to lift a cross into the middle.

All very tense still - not much quality on show yet.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:30 , Matt Verri

29 mins: Time for a water break, decide the players, as Kamal needs some treatment.

A fair few are still on the touchline as play gets back underway - linesman has to wave the camera away!

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:27 , Matt Verri

26 mins: We've just over midway through the first-half - one shot in total. That was from Kudus, and wasn't close to being on target.

Ayew tries to change that, bursting away down the left. Ball flicked inside to Semenyo, but he can't gather.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:24 , Matt Verri

23 mins: Salah is actually playing fairly deep for Egypt, almost like a wing-back on the right at times. Not sure that's really what his country need.

Attack does down the opposite flank, ball whipped in and Mensah under no pressure heads it behind for a corner.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:22 , Matt Verri

21 mins: Marmoush down in the box, not getting a penalty for that.

Salah right in the referee's face, furious with that decision. An imaginary card is waved by the official, clearly warning him what will happen if the dissent continues.

It does continue. Nothing happens.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:20 , Matt Verri

19 mins: Nothing more predictable than that.

Egypt think they should have a free-kick, left frustrated as the appeals are waved away. Fathi running hot as he closes down Ayew - too keen. Whistle goes, more frustration!

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:16 , Matt Verri

16 mins: Ghana corner, the Black Stars are just starting to take control a bit here.

Taken short, Kudus then tries to whip it in but it's Salah of all people who is out quickly to block.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:14 , Matt Verri

13 mins: Kudus looks sharp in the middle of the pitch when Ghana can get him on the ball.

Nice ball out wide, then played inside to Williams. He turns into the box, space to get a shot away... until he stands on the ball. That was a promising move though.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:11 , Matt Verri

10 mins: It's not a great playing surface, and that's being generous. Ball bobbling all over the place.

Mohamed down for Egypt, took a hand to the face. Doesn't get the decision, does get some treatment. He's fine.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:08 , Matt Verri

7 mins: Ball slid through to Semenyo, looks to dink El Shenawy but his effort is saved. Not that it matters, offside flag goes up.

Pattern early on is clear. Plenty of Egypt possession, but plenty of pace for Ghana on the break.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:06 , Matt Verri

5 mins: Kudus off balance, miles out... still tries his luck. Certainly not lacking in confidence, but that was never going to trouble the goalkeeper.

Elneny pings a nice ball out wide, Hamdi not far away from getting on the end of it. He was completely free.

Egypt 0-0 Ghana

20:04 , Matt Verri

3 mins: Ashour skips away from Odoi down the left, before the Ghana full-back trips him up. Doesn't bother to complain about that decision.

Egypt seeing plenty of the ball in the opening minutes - Elneny dropping deep, almost into a back five.

And now Ashimeru clatters Ashour, that was very late. Just a warning though.

KICK-OFF!

20:01 , Matt Verri

Underway in this pivotal Group B match!

Here we go!

19:55 , Matt Verri

Teams are out onto the pitch - decent crowd in.

Time for the anthems and then the focus will shift to kick-off!

Hughton: We know what this game means

19:54 , Matt Verri

Chris Hughton says his Ghana side are aware of the expectation on them tonight - he's confident they can rise to the occasion.

"We want to do well in this competition this is the motivation that we need for this game against a big team, a successful team in Egypt," the Ghana boss said.

“This is the motivation and probably more than anything we are aware of expectations…and there isn’t one player in this squad that isn’t aware of what this game means.”

Not long now!

19:48 , Matt Verri

Players will be in the tunnel in just over five minutes.

Victory for either side and their AFCON campaign will be firmly back on track heading into the final group-stage matches.

Defeat and the pressure will be piled on. Big time.

World Cup qualifying up and running

19:41 , Matt Verri

Not just at AFCON where Ghana have had problems.

They've made a stumbling start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign too, losing to Comoros after just about scraping past Madagascar.

No such issues for Egypt - they've picked up comfortable wins over Djibouti and Sierra Leone to sit top of their group.

Hughton confronted by angry fan

19:33 , Matt Verri

An angry supporter attempted to throw a punch at Ghana coach Chris Hughton after their shock opening defeat at the Africa Cup of Nations, team officials have confirmed.

Ghana were beaten by a stoppage time goal by Cape Verde, one of the smallest of the 24 teams at AFCON in one of several shock results on Sunday.

Hughton was accosted at the team hotel as Ghana returned from the match but the angry fan was intercepted by security officials, before being taken away by local police.

Hughton was also subjected to a volley of a verbal abuse, officials told Reuters.

Ghana team media liaison Henry Asante said: "The fan approached the coach to express his disappointment at the outcome of the game and told the coach to improve or leave the job. It was a verbal confrontation. There was no physical contact. Later he was taken away by the security."

Ghana fans making the noise!

19:27 , Matt Verri

No shortage of Black Stars fans inside the stadium already...

Ton up for Elneny

19:17 , Matt Verri

Mohamed Elneny makes his 100th international appearance tonight, a special occasion for him.

The midfielder has played just 72 minutes of competitive football for Arsenal this season - he beat in one AFCON match after playing 78 minutes of Egypt's opening game.

Elneny was named in the team of the tournament at AFCON two years ago.

Kudus returns!

19:11 , Matt Verri

Huge boost for Ghana to have Mohammed Kudus back in the starting lineup. Would be surprised if he was at full fitness, after that hamstring injury, but the Black Stars clearly think he is fit enough.

For Egypt, Trezeguet drops out of the side after a quiet performance against Mozambique. Eintracht Frankfurt's Omar Marmoush gets his chance to impress on the left wing.

Otherwise as expected, with Mohamed Elneny fit to continue in midfield and Mohamed Salah the main man as ever up front.

Ghana team news

19:04 , Matt Verri

Starting XI: Ofori, Odoi, Djiku, Salisu, Mensah, Ashimeru, Samed, Semenyo, Kudus, J. Ayew, Williams

Subs: Seidu, Opoku, A. Ayew, Bukari, Wollacott, Paintsil, Owusu, Ati-Zigi, Amartey, Nuamah, Baba, Sowah

Egypt team news

19:02 , Matt Verri

Starting XI: El Shenawy, Kamal, Hegazi, Abdelmonem, Hamdy,H. Fathi, Elneny, Ashour, Marmoush, Mohamed, Salah

Subs: Gabr, Hany, Trezeguet, Kouka, Kahraba, Fatouh, Attia,M. Fathi, Hamada, Abou Gabal, Zizo, Sobhy

Egypt look to end wait

18:54 , Matt Verri

No country has lifted the AFCON trophies more times than Egypt.

They have won the tournament on seven occasions, including three in a row between 2006 and 2010.

But they have not been champions of Africa since then, despite twice reaching the final. They were beaten on penalties by Senegal two years in the showpiece event, as they fell just short.

Will the 14-year wait end in Ivory Coast?

Black Stars under pressure

18:42 , Matt Verri

Ghana need to stop this tournament turning into something familiar.

Two years ago, they did not win a single group-stage match as they finished bottom and crashed out in disastrous fashion.

That was a huge shock, but they will already be fearing a repeat. Defeat to Cape Verde has left them bottom of Group B - need to ensure they are not beaten again tonight.

Otherwise that final match against Mozambique is going to be very, very nervy.

Egypt have history on their side

18:33 , Matt Verri

It's now more than ten years since Ghana beat Egypt.

The past four matches between the two nations have brought three Egypt wins and a draw, with Ghana's last victory coming in 2013 in a World Cup play-off.

That was a 6-1 win.... what the Black Stars would give for something similar tonight.

Ayew: It will be a good day for Ghana

18:21 , Matt Verri

Jordan Ayew is confident Ghana will bounce back from their opening defeat to Cape Verde, with the Crystal Palace forward urging the team to "stay aggressive" against Egypt tonight.

"We didn’t come here to visit Abidjan; we came here to win," Ayew said.

"In the first game, we didn’t concentrate for 90 minutes and that’s what cost us. The most important thing for us is to come back and stay focused. We have to stay aggressive and we’ll be fine.

"I have total belief in players and staff. I’m confident it will be a really good day for Ghana."

So far today...

18:13 , Matt Verri

It was an entertaining clash to kick off the action today, as Equatorial Guinea beat Guinea-Bissau 4-2. Emilio Nsue scored a hat-trick in that match.

And it's currently 0-0 early in the second-half in a blockbuster encounter between Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

The Super Eagles could do with a positive result against the hosts, having drawn their opening match.

You can follow that match live here!

Egypt snatch a point

18:04 , Matt Verri

Fairly dramatic start to Egypt's campaign.

They trailed Mozambique deep into stoppage-time, before they were awarded a last-gasp penalty.

Mohamed Salah stepped up... and just about converted off the inside of the post.

Pre-match walk for Ghana

17:56 , Matt Verri

The Black Stars have been out and about this afternoon ahead of tonight's crucial match...

Standard Sport prediction

17:50 , Matt Verri

Both heavyweights were well below par on opening weekend, with Egypt just about getting away with it - but Ghana certainly not.

But whereas that Egypt display felt like a minor blip for the record seven-time champions that will most likely be corrected relatively swiftly, for Ghana such a flat and disappointing performance was definitely nothing new.

It has been a proper struggle for Hughton so far and the Black Stars have now won just one of their last five games, and that was only a 1-0 victory over minnows Madagascar in World Cup qualifying back in November.

We expect Salah and Co to kick on here at the expense of Ghana, who would be left in real trouble after back-to-back defeats ahead of their final group clash with Mozambique on Monday night.

Egypt to win, 2-1.

Ghana team news

17:43 , Matt Verri

Ghana will hope to have Mohammed Kudus back tonight.

The West Ham forward picked up a minor hamstring injury against Arsenal last month and was still contending with the issue heading into the tournament, missing Ghana's AFCON opener against Cape Verde.

The Black Stars lost that match, immediately putting them on the back foot in Group B, and they now face a tough test against Egypt as they look to get their campaign back on track.

Kudus has returned to full training and is in contention for Ghana tonight, with Chris Hughton potentially bringing him straight into the starting XI.

There are options for Ghana should Kudus miss out again, with Andre Ayew and Inaki Williams both only getting cameos off the bench against Cape Verde.

Predicted Ghana XI: Ofori, Odoi, Dijku, Salisu, Mensah, Ashimeru, Baba, Konigsdorffer, J Ayew, Kudus, Semenyo

Egypt team news

17:36 , Matt Verri

Egypt are not believed to have picked up any fresh injury concerns in their dramatic opening draw with Mozambique. Mohamed Salah scored a 97th-minute penalty to earn a draw for his country, but it was still two points dropped.

Mohamed Elneny started that match and played 78 minutes, more than he has managed in total for Arsenal this season. He appeared to come through it unscathed and is set to start in midfield again this evening.

Trezeguet had a quiet game for Egypt compared to team-mates Salah and Mostafa Mohamed, and faces competition on the left wing from Omar Marmoush.

Predicted Egypt XI: El-Shenawy, Hany, Hegazy, Abdelmonem, Hamdi, Zizo, Elneny, Fathi, Marmoush, Mohamed, Salah

How to watch Egypt vs Ghana

17:29 , Matt Verri

TV channel: In the UK, tonight's game will be televised live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event. Coverage starts at 7:55pm GMT ahead of an 8pm kick-off.

BBC Three will also offer free-to-air-coverage, which begins at 7:50pm.

Live stream: Those with a Sky Sports subscription can also catch the action live as it happens online via the Sky Go app. The BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer (both free with subscriptions) will offer a live stream service.

Live blog: Follow minute-by-minute updates from tonight's big game right here with us!

Good evening!

17:23 , Matt Verri

Hello and welcome to Standard Sport's LIVE coverage of Egypt vs Ghana!

It's a huge Africa Cup of Nations clash in Group B - both sides looking to bounce back after failing to win their opening matches.

Defeat for either here and the pressure will be massive heading into the final group-stage games.

We'll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 8pm GMT from the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium. Stay with us!