Egypt retained their Africa Cup of Nations crown on Sunday when Mohamed Aboutraika scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Cameroon which also delivered a record sixth title.
The defending champions ensured they held on to the trophy when, after a slick passing movement, Aboutraika struck in the 77th minute for a deserved success.
The result was the Pharoahs' final act in a hugely impressive campaign that saw them build on the defeat of Cameroon in their opening group game to record victories over Sudan, Tunisia and then Ivory Coast in the semi-finals.
Egypt were adding the trophy to their wins in 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998 and 2006, with coach Hassan Shehata becoming only the second coach to win back-to-back titles.
Cameroon were without their suspended defender Andre Bikey, but Alexandre Song, stretchered off in the semi-final win over Ghana, was on the pitch.
However, the Arsenal defender only lasted a quarter of an hour, limping off dejectedly with Benfica's Gilles Binya taking his place.
Before Song's exit, Egypt's Hosny Abd Rabou had hit a 30m free kick which flew over the Cameroon defense before goalkeeper Carlos Kameni had to look sharp to deny Emad Moteab's angled shot.
Egypt skipper Ahmed Hassan then did well to stick his foot out to deflect Joel Epaule's effort.
Pharoahs' keeper Essam al-Hadary, man of the match against Ivory Coast, was up to the job of denying a 30m freekick special from Geremi before Kameni produced an acrobatic dive to keep out Moteab's dangerous strike.
Eto'o, the competition's all time top scorer, had the Egyptians scampering around on the hour mark with a lightning run down the left.
Cameroon coach Otto Pfister then introduced striker Mohamadou Idrissou for a midfielder, Achille Emana, as he sought the keys to unlock the Egyptians, with Shehata swapping Moteab for Hamburg striker Mohamed Zidan.
Zidan scored twice in Egypt's win over Cameroon earlier in the tournament and he was instrumental in putting them into a 77nd minute lead.
He robbed the tiring Rigobert Song and his slide rule pass from the left found Aboutraika who calmly struck low past Kameni.
That was the Al Ahly midfielder's fourth goal and it set up a fraught final quarter of an hour as Cameroon frantically tried to get back into the match, but the defending champions held on to take the continental cup back to Cairo.
In the Egyptian capital, the victory brought joy and relief.
"Finally something joyous happens to us," said Mohammed Said, sporting an Egyptian flag instead of his traditional galabaya robe. "With the government we have everything is sad, the prices, the boats sink and trains crash, this is the only thing that gives us joy."
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS