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Egypt and Mozambique met for the sixth time, and this was also the fourth time both nations met in the Africa Cup of Nations. In the previous three meetings (1986, 1998 and 2010), Egypt won those respective matches 2-0. In addition, Egypt won both matches during the second round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Mostafa Mohamed got Egypt off to a dream start in the second minute with a thunderous shot after a missed opportunity by Mohamed Salah. However, Mozambique staged a strong fightback in the second half, first with Witi heading home in the 55th minute from a brilliant pinpoint cross by Domingos Macandza, before three minutes later Clésio put on a stunning turn of pace before slotting into the net. Nonetheless, Mozambique were cruelly denied a historic win by a foul from Macandza on Salah, and Salah converted the penalty off the left post for a draw in the seventh minute of added time.
Ghana and Cape Verde met for the sixth time ever, and this was their first encounter since the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, which Ghana won 2–0. In addition, Ghana also defeated Cape Verde twice during qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, including a 4-0 win in Cape Verde. This outcome secured Ghana's qualification for a FIFA World Cup for the first time in the nation's history.
Jamiro Monteiro shocked the Ghanaians in the 17th minute by tapping into an empty net after Richard Ofori palmed Jovane Cabral’s fierce first-time effort into the goalscorer’s path. After being ruled out of an equaliser from Ransford Yeboah for offside before half-time, within 15 minutes of the restart, Alexander Djiku capitalised from the corner kick, bundled into the bottom corner to restore parity. However, feckless defending doomed the Ghanaians in the second minute of extra time, when Garry Rodrigues capitalized from Ghanaian errors to slot into an empty net for the shock win.
Egypt and Ghana met for the first time since a 1-1 draw on Nov. 12, 2017, in the teams' group stage finale for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. In addition, the nations also met at four previous editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, with the most recent being a group stage finale in 2017, when Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the match in Port-Gentil, Gabon to give Egypt the 1-0 victory; coupled with Mali's 1-1 draw against Uganda, Ghana advanced to the knockout stage with Egypt. Ghana last defeated Egypt in 2013, winning 6-1 in the first leg of a playoff to determine who would qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
After a scoreless first 45 minutes, in first-half stoppage time Egyptian captain Mohamed Salah was injured, and within that time, Mohammed Kudus received a pass 25 yards from goal, shifted the ball away from Omar Marmoush and lashed in superbly to give Mohamed El Shenawy no chance.
After Mohamed Abdelmonem got his equalizer ruled out for offside, Marmoush redeemed at the 69th minute by pouncing on an awful backpass by Iñaki Williams, rounding Richard Ofori and tucking home with aplomb. Kudus immediately responded by restoring parity just two minutes later with a deflecting shot from a failed Abdelmonem's clearance. Still, Ghana's lead was squandered just three minutes later when Trézéguet dispatched the ball from Osman Bukari, before cutting for Mostafa Mohamed to slot in to end the manic thriller to a draw.
Cape Verde and Mozambique met for the fifth time, as the previous four encounters involved qualifying matches for the Africa Cup of Nations. Both nations were drawn into Group F for qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations (along with Niger and Zambia), and the nations met twice in five days in October 2014. Mozambique, who had two draws coming into this match, won 2-0 in the first meeting against Cape Verde, who had opened qualifying with two victories, on Oct. 11, 2014. In the return match on Oct. 15, 2014, Cape Verde got a 79th-minute goal from Heldon, which happened to be the game's only goal; coupled with other results, Cape Verde was one of two nations to secure qualification for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. The nations also met during qualifying for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, with the team's first meeting being a 2-2 draw in Praia; Cape Verde had been winning until they allowed a stoppage-time goal in that match. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the other match to be delayed. When the teams met again on Mar. 30, 2021, it was another 1-0 victory for Cape Verde (this one, courtesy of an own goal from Mozambique's Faizal Bangal) that secured Cape Verde's qualification for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Cape Verde got off to a perfect start when Bebé produced a fiery long-range set-piece shot to the net to give the Cape Verdeans the lead. In the 51st minute, Edmilson Dove's clumsy effort to hold the ball was intercepted by Ryan Mendes before Mendes doubled the West Africans' lead. Kevin Pina then ended any Mozambican hope for a comeback with an equally brilliant thunderous long-range shot.
This result meant Cape Verde advanced past the group stages in three out of four AFCON they have participated.
Ghana and Mozambique met for the sixth time, with the first meeting coming in the final group matchday of the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, with Ghana winning 2-0. The two nations also met during qualification for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, playing twice in four days in March 2016.
The Black Stars were awarded a penalty in the 15th minute after Joseph Paintsil was fouled by Nanani and Mexer in the penalty area. Jordan Ayew converted successfully. The situation became more favourable for the Ghanaians when from an attack in the 66th minute, Reinildo Mandava handled a shot from Mohammed Kudus, leading to another penalty which Jordan Ayew again converted. However, André Ayew's handball won the Mozambicans a penalty themselves, scored by Geny Catamo in the first minute of stoppage time. Three minutes later, a corner kick coming from Richard Ofori's mishandling of the ball resulted in a header from Mandava, which tied the score but it proved to be futile as Mozambique crashed out; however, the draw also left Ghana in despair as they had to wait until the final matches, with their elimination confirmed the day after.
Cape Verde and Egypt met for the first time ever in this group stage finale.
The match got off to a high-tempo start as Egypt was desperate to gain a ticket to advance. Despite Cape Verde having guaranteed their top spot, it was the Cape Verdeans who stroke first in the first minute of extra time when Benchimol swiveled and fired the ball into the bottom corner at the disbelief of the Egyptians. Five minutes after the restart, however, Trézéguet would find the back of the net for Egypt thanks to a clinical pass from Ahmed Hegazi before putting through the legs of Vozinha. The Egyptians, inspired by this goal, poured everything to find the second, and they were rewarded in the third minute of added time when Mostafa Mohamed, with the wit from his teammate Trézéguet's pass, dank the onrushing Vozinha to make it two for Egypt. However, just six minutes later, Egypt squandered the lead when Bryan Teixeira pounced over Mohamed El Shenawy to seal the deal of the match to a thrilling draw.
This was the first time Cape Verde topped the table of the group stages in an AFCON. Meanwhile, despite three consecutive 2–2 draws, Egypt advanced to the knockout stages, thanks to Ghana dropping two points to Mozambique.
Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:
Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.
Egypt
Ghana
Cape Verde
Mozambique
2'
Egypt
66'
66'
