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Hosts Egypt win dramatic shoot-out
![]() Mohamed Aboutrika is chased by his teammates after scoring the winning penaltyfor Egypt CAIRO, Egypt -- Hosts Egypt have won the African Nations Cup, beating Ivory Coast 4-2 on penalties after the final finished 0-0 after extra-time. Captain Didier Drogba and Bakary Kone both missed spot kicks for the Ivorians in the shoot-out. Egypt had a goal disallowed for offside in the 85th minute and also missed a penalty when Ahmed Hassan's kick was deflected onto the post in the eighth minute of extra-time. Drogba could have sewn it up before then as he fired over the crossbar from close range in the 79th minute. It proved to be a match of total frustration for Chelsea striker Drogba, whose miss from just centimeters - after a square pass from Arouna Kone - will haunt him for years to come. Drogba spent several seconds inside the goal, biting on the netting as he reflected on a rare chance that might have handed the Ivorians only their second triumph. Egypt hit back and appeared to have broken the deadlock in the 85th minute. Zaki scrambled the ball home after Ivory Coast keeper Jean-Jacques Tizie made a superb double save but the home fans were disappointed as his effort was ruled out for offside. The hosts, who escaped having what looked a clear late penalty awarded against them in their semifinal with Senegal, were given a controversial spot kick in the eighth minute of injury time for an alleged trip on Mohamed Barakat. But Hassan, who had converted penalties in each of their last two games, saw his effort tipped on to the post by Tizie. The Ivorians, already upset about a number of free kicks awarded around their area by Tunisian official Mourad Daami, were infuriated by the penalty. "It was scandalous," said Michel. "It was robbery against Senegal and now it's robbery against us too." However, the hero of the night turned out to be Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadari, whose fine performances in the earlier rounds continued with two saves in the shootout to hand Egypt a record fifth African Nations Cup win. After correctly judging Drogba's effort he then stopped a kick from Kone. It was left to Mohamed Aboutrika to calmly stroke home the winning penalty and send 80,000 Egyptian supporters into delerious excitement. "This tournament belongs to the Egyptian fans. It was not one single player who won this. It was a joint effort," said veteran Egyptian striker Hossam Hassan. "This great achievement is dedicated to the Egyptian fans who stood by the national team," said coach Hassan Shehata. "God always rewards those who perfect what they do and we exerted huge efforts to win the championship until this dream came true."
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