Côte d’Ivoire’s hopes of retaining their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title have come to an end after a dramatic quarter-final exit at the 2025 tournament.

The 2023 champions were beaten 3–2 by record winners Egypt, with star forwards Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush playing decisive roles to send the Pharaohs through to the semi-finals. Marmoush opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute, setting the tone for a fiercely contested encounter.

Salah later netted Egypt’s crucial third goal—his fourth of the competition—and was rewarded with the Man of the Match award for his influential display.

Egypt will now face Senegal in the semi-finals on Wednesday, January 14, at 17:00 GMT, in a highly anticipated clash that will see Salah come up against his former Liverpool teammate and Senegal captain, Sadio Mané.

Reacting to the defeat, Côte d’Ivoire head coach Emerse Faé, who masterminded the Elephants’ fairytale triumph at the 2023 AFCON, expressed his disappointment and pointed to costly errors by his side.

“We are frustrated by tonight’s result. We prepared well for this Egyptian team, but we made too many mistakes at key moments to hope to eliminate them,” Faé told CAF.

“I regret conceding the first goal so early, as well as the second. It’s hard to explain these lapses in concentration,” he added.