Egypt U23 lose to Brazil 1-0 and bow out of the Olympic Games

Egypt side were outplayed by Brazil to lose 1-0 and bow out of the Olympic Games at the quarter-final stage on Saturday, missing out on what would have been their first semi-final appearance in 57 years.

Playmaker Matheus Cunha netted what proved to be the winner seven minutes before halftime after being teed up by Richarlison, who remains the tournament’s top scorer with five goals.

Brazil, gold medalists at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, were unlucky not to secure a more comprehensive victory, having wasted several goal-scoring chances in a one-sided affair that Egypt would not be proud of.

Egypt remained cautious even after falling behind, with coach Shawky Gharib seemingly reluctant to commit men forward out of fear he might concede a killer goal.

But the end result was, as expected, a disappointing defeat for Egypt who barely put up a fight at the Saitama Stadium.

Egypt, who were also eliminated in the quarters in 2012 after losing to Japan 3-0, last reached the semi-final in the 1964 Tokyo Games.