Egypt salutes team ‘dignity’ after agonising loss

CAIRO: The Egyptian president and newspapers applauded the “dignity” of the national football team on Monday, calling them champions despite agonisingly losing the Africa Cup of Nations final 2-1 to Cameroon.

Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny gave Egypt the lead midway through the first half on Sunday and they looked to be on course to win an unrivalled eighth Cup of Nations crown in their first appearance at the tournament since 2010.

But Cameroon hit back and Vincent Aboubakar came off the bench to score a stunning winner with two minutes left to break Egyptian hearts.

“We have lost with dignity” read the headline of the privately owned Al-Shorouk newspaper.

“The Pharaohs have lost 2-1 in the finals after a dignified performance,” said the state-owned Al-Akhbar newspaper.

The private Al-Watan newspaper chimed: “The cup was lost but we won the national team.”

“You have honoured us, champions... We’ll meet at the World Cup,” the privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper added.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed his “great appreciation” to the players on their “dignified performance” in Gabon. “Despite the result of the game the national team has won the appreciation of the entire Egyptian people and the respect of all football fans around the world,” Sisi said in a statement.