The Elephants, who arrived in North Africa aiming to retain the trophy they lifted on home soil in 2023, were knocked out after suffering a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Egypt at Stade Adrar in Tangier.

In a tightly contested encounter, Egypt captain Mohamed Salah proved decisive, scoring once and providing an assist as the Pharaohs withstood sustained pressure from Ivory Coast to book their place in the semi-finals.

Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush opened the scoring inside four minutes before Ramy Rabia doubled Egypt's advantage with a towering header from a Salah corner.

Ivory Coast responded well and pulled one back when sustained pressure from Yan Diomande forced Ahmed Fatouh into an own goal. However, just as the Elephants threatened to draw level, Salah struck again, firing home a low effort to claim his fourth goal of the tournament and his third for Egypt.

Guela Doue reduced the deficit in the 73rd minute, but Egypt held firm in the closing stages to eliminate one of the pre-tournament favourites and end Ivory Coast's hopes of being crowned AFCON champions in 2025.

Speaking after the match, Fae conceded defeat and lamented his side's costly mistakes, admitting Egypt's third goal proved decisive.

"We are frustrated by tonight's result. We prepared our players to face this Egyptian team, but we made too many mistakes at key moments to hope to eliminate them," Fae told CAF Media.

"What hurts most are those mistakes. We took too long to get into the match. I regret conceding the first goal so early, as well as the second. We reacted well to make it 2-1 before halftime.

"But the third goal put us in real trouble. It's hard to explain those lapses in concentration. We will continue to work and prepare for the World Cup."

Meanwhile, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan praised his players for their commitment and promised to address the defensive lapses ahead of their semi-final clash.

"Since we arrived, I've always said that every match is like a final for us. That's how we approach every game," said Hassan, Egypt's all-time leading scorer with 69 goals in 177 appearances.

"I'm very happy with our qualification. The players gave everything, and I'm proud of them. Our preparation made the difference. We respected Ivory Coast as the reigning champions and put a game plan in place that worked.

"It's true we made mistakes that cost us two goals, but we scored three. We will correct these shortcomings for the next matches."

Following the victory, Egypt will face Senegal in the semi-finals. The Lions of Teranga advanced after edging Algeria 1-0 in the other quarter-final.

AFCON heartbreak for Ivory Coast as Egypt book semi-final spot