Ivory Coast and Egypt on Wednesday progressed to the quarterfinals of the men’s Olympic football tournament after finishing as group runners-up in Group D and C respectively.
With just a draw need to book their ticket to the last eight,Ivory Coast did just what was required when they settled to a 1-1 draw at the Miyagi Stadium in Rifu against Rio 2016 runners-up Germany, who needed a win to progress.
After a goalless first half, Ivory Coast took the lead when Benjamin Heinrichs scored an own goal in the 67th minute. Things got back on level terms after the Germans became more aggressive and slotted home the equalizer in the 73rd minute through substitute Eduard Lowen.
Neither side could get a winning goal in the remaining minutes, a favorable result for the unbeaten Elephants, equaling their best performance at the 2008 Beijing Games when they finished as runner-up in Group A ahead of Australia and Serbia, three points behind group winners Argentina.
They later lost 2-0 in the quarterfinals against Nigeria in the 2008 Beijing Games.
Ivory Coast will now face Group C winners Spain in the quarterfinals slated for Saturday, July 31.
Australia 0-2 Egypt
Egypt on the other hand defeated Australia 2-0 to qualify for the quarterfinals.
The two goals were very important for the Pharaohs, as they qualified on a single goal difference ahead of Argentina that forced group winners Spain to a 1-1 draw.
Ahmed Yasser Rayan broke the deadlock with just a minute plus added time left to play when he received a beautiful assist from Ramadan Sobhi.
The second goal came in the 85th minute when Amar Hamdy scored from a very close range.Egypt will face Brazil in the quarter finals.
Africa’s third representative South Africa ended their campaign in a dismal form after losing all three games at the tournament.
