Egypt Win African Nations Cup

February 10th, 2006 | by: WC Bob | View Comments

Ivory Coast’s string of penalty kick success came to a crashing end in the final of the African Nations Cup with Egypt keeper Essam Al Hadary the hero for today after he helped the host nation become champion 4-2 in penalty shots. Al Hadry and Egypt had the advantage from the start after Didier Drogba was unable to covert the Elephants’ first penalty kick. The Egyptian keeper also stopped Bakary Kone’s attempt.

The loss is a disappointing end to an otherwise fabulous tournament for Ivory Coast. A thrilling 12-11 penalty shoot-out victory over Sengal will forever have a spot in the mind of Elephants’ fans. After licking their wounds from tonight’s loss, the Elephants will begin to prepare for the World Cup where their presence in a group that includes Argentina, Holland and Serbia and Montenegro will lend credence to its label as the Group of Death.