The 2020 Egypt Cup Final was the 88th Egypt Cup Final, the final match of the 2019–20 Egypt Cup, Africa's oldest football cup competition. It was played at Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt, on 5 December 2020 between Al Ahly and Tala'ea El Gaish.[3]

2020 Egypt Cup Final
Borg El Arab Stadium hosted the final
Event2019–20 Egypt Cup
After extra time
Al Ahly won 3–2 on penalties
Date5 December 2020 (2020-12-05)
VenueBorg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria
RefereeMohamed El Hanafy[1]
WeatherFair
15 °C (59 °F)
88% humidity[2]
2019
2021

Al Ahly won the match 3–2 on penalties, after the original and extra time ended 1–1, winning their 37th Egypt Cup title. Since Al Ahly also won the 2019–20 Egyptian Premier League, Tala'ea El Gaish earned the right to play in the 2020–21 Egyptian Super Cup as the Egypt Cup runners-up.

Since the competition wouldn't finish by the CAF deadline (1 November 2020) for associations to submit participating teams in African competitions for the 2020–21 season, the spot awarded to the Egypt Cup winners (Confederation Cup preliminary or first round) was passed to the fourth-placed team in the 2019–20 Egyptian Premier League, Al Mokawloon Al Arab.[4]

Route to the final

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In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first. From the round of 16, all matches were played on neutral grounds.

Al Ahly

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Round Opposition Score
R32 Beni Suef 3–1
R16 Tersana 2–1
QF Abou Qir Fertilizers 2–1
SF Al Ittihad 2–1

As an Egyptian Premier League club, Al Ahly started in the round of 32 where they were drawn with Egyptian Second Division team Beni Suef. Al Ahly won 3–1 with two goals from Walid Azaro and one from Ahmed El Sheikh.[5] In the round of 16, they were drawn against Egyptian Second Division team Tersana and won 2–1 thanks to a brace from Junior Ajayi.[6] In the quarter-finals, they were drawn against another Egyptian Second Division side, Abou Qir Fertilizers, and won 2–1 with both goals coming from Walid Soliman in the first half of the match.[7] In the semi-finals, they were drawn with an Egyptian Premier League side for the first time this season, against Al Ittihad and progressed to the final after a controversial 2–1 win with Mohamed Magdy and Hamdy Fathy on the scoresheet.[8] After the match, Al Ittihad filed a complaint against the match referee Mohamed Maarouf for his poor decisions made during the game, especially before Al Ahly's second goal, that "helped" them to win the game.[9] Numerous former referees and analysts supported the move made by the club, including ON Time Sports' analyst Ahmed El Shenway, who said that errors made by Maarouf and the VAR referees prevented Al Ittihad from advancing to the final.[10]

Tala'ea El Gaish

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Round Opposition Score
R32 Dikernis 1–0
R16 Misr Lel Makkasa 1–0
QF Pyramids 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(3–1 pen.)
SF Zamalek 3–1 (a.e.t.)

As an Egyptian Premier League club, Tala'ea El Gaish also started in the round of 32. They were drawn at home against Egyptian Second Division side Dikernis. Tale'ea El Gaish won 1–0 with a goal from Hossam Salama.[11] In the round of 16, they drew fellow Egyptian Premier League team Misr Lel Makkasa and won 1–0 thanks to a goal from Misr Lel Makkasa's loanee Kevin Muhire.[12] In the quarter finals, they played against fellow Egyptian Premier League side Pyramids and won 3–1 on penalties after the match ended goalless after extra time, with Mohamed Ashraf, Ahmed Kabouria and Ali El Fil scoring all three penalties.[13] In the semi-finals, they were drawn against Egyptian Premier League side and Egypt Cup defending champions Zamalek and progressed to the final after a 3–1 extra time win with two goals from Ahmed Samir and one from new signing Amr Marey.[14]

Before the match

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The Cairo International Stadium in Cairo was initially chosen to host the final.

Al Ahly reached the final for the first time since 2017 and for the 42nd time in their history, extending their record for finals appearances. Tala'ea El Gaish qualified to the Egypt Cup final this season for the first time in the club's history.

The match was originally scheduled to be played in the Cairo International Stadium in Cairo, but was later moved to Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria after the former was selected to host the CAF Super Cup.

The Egyptian Football Association confirmed that the match would be played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Match

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Officials

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On 4 December 2020, EFA named Mohamed El Hanafy as the referee for the match. El Hanafy is considered as one of Egypt's finest referees and appeared in numerous matches in the Egyptian Premier League and the Egyptian Second Division during the recent seasons. Ahmed Hossam and Youssef El Bosaty were chosen as the assistant referees, while Mohamed El Sabahy was chosen as the fourth official. Tarek Magdy was named the video assistant referee and was assisted by Mahmoud Ashour.[1]

Details

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Al Ahly1–1 (a.e.t.)Tala'ea El Gaish
  • Kahraba   65'
Report
Penalties
3–2
Referee: Mohamed El Hanafy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Al Ahly
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tala'ea El Gaish
GK 16   Mohamed El Shenawy (c)
RB 30   Mohamed Hany
CB 3   Badr Benoun
CB 12   Ayman Ashraf   50'
LB 21   Ali Maâloul
CM 17   Amr El Solia
CM 8   Hamdy Fathy   110'
RW 14   Hussein El Shahat   83'
AM 19   Mohamed "Afsha" Magdy
LW 27   Taher Mohamed   62'
CF 9   Marwan Mohsen   110'
Substitutes:
GK 13   Ali Lotfi
DF 5   Ramy Rabia
DF 6   Yasser Ibrahim
DF 23   Mahmoud Wahid
MF 22   Nasser Maher   110'
MF 25   Akram Tawfik   83'
FW 7   Mahmoud Kahraba   71'   62'
FW 18   Salah Mohsen   110'
FW 29   Geraldo
Manager:
  Pitso Mosimane
 
GK 18   Mohamed Bassam (c)
RB 6   Khaled Sotohi
CB 5   Ali El Fil
CB 27   Ahmed Alaa   89'   90+6'
LB 21   Mohamed Nasef   84'   86'
RM 19   Ahmed Samir   62'
CM 22   Mohanad Lasheen   82'
CM 25   Franck Engonga   82'
LM 24   Ahmed Abdel Rahman
CF 13   Amr Marey   62'
CF 17   Amr Gamal   91'
Substitutes:
GK 1   Mohamed Shaaban
DF 20   Hussein El Sayed   86'
DF 26   Ahmed Hany
MF 7   Amr El Sisi   82'
MF 14   Mostafa Gamal   82'
MF 35   Mostafa El Zenary   91'
FW 9   Nasser Mansi   90+3'   62'
FW 11   Toni Gomes
FW 12   Islam Mohareb   62'
Manager:
  Tarek El Ashry

Assistant referees:[1]
Ahmed Hossam
Youssef El Bosaty
Fourth official:[1]
Mohamed El Sabahy
Video assistant referee:[1]
Tarek Magdy
Assistant video assistant referee:[1]
Mahmoud Ashour

Match rules

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Nine named substitutes
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time[a]

Notes

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  1. ^ Each team was only given three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "محمد الحنفي يدير نهائي كأس مصر.. سجل حافل مع الأهلي والجيش" [Mohamed El Hanafy set to officiate Egypt Cup final between Al Ahly and Tala'ea El Gaish]. FilGoal (in Arabic). 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Weather History for Alexandria Borg El Arab, Egypt". Weather Underground. The Weather Company. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  3. ^ "الأهلي يواجه طلائع الجيش على برج العرب" [Al Ahly to face Tala'ea El Gaish at Borg El Arab Stadium]. Yalla Kora (in Arabic). 2 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Arab Contractors secure continental football next season". KingFut. 17 October 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Al Ahly defeat Beni Suef 3-1". Egypt Today. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Al Ahly defeat Tersana to advance to Egypt Cup quarterfinals". KingFut. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Al Ahly end Abou Qir's fairytale run in Egypt Cup ahead of CL final". KingFut. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Mosimane leads Al Ahly to Egyptian Cup final to keep treble dream alive". Goal. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Al Ittihad Alexandria file complaint against Al Ahly game referee". KingFut. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  10. ^ "أحمد الشناوي يكشف عن خطأ تحكيمي مؤثر في نتيجة مباراة الأهلي والاتحاد" [Ahmed El Shenawy reveals all critical errors made by the referees in Al Ahly and Al Ittihad match]. Btolat (in Arabic). 2 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  11. ^ "طلائع الجيش يخطف فوزاً صعباً على حساب دكرنس بهدف في كأس مصر" [Tala'ea El Gaish grab a hard 1–0 win in the cup against Dikernis]. Btolat (in Arabic). 7 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  12. ^ "طلائع الجيش يبلغ ربع نهائي كأس مصر باجتياز المقاصة" [Tala'ea El Gaish reach Egypt Cup quarter-final after passing Misr Lel Makkasa]. Yalla Kora (in Arabic). 17 February 2020. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  13. ^ "طلائع الجيش يهزم بيراميدز 3/1 بركلات الترجيح ويتأهل لنصف نهائى كأس مصر" [Tala'ea El Gaish defeats Pyramids 3–1 on penalties to reach Egypt cup semi-final]. Youm7 (in Arabic). 14 October 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Tala'ea El gaish leave Zamalek shell-shocked in Egypt Cup upset". KingFut. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.