Ivory Coast v Egypt has a climactic feel but don’t expect the goals of 2008

Ivory Coast’s meeting with Egypt on Wednesday may only be the last 16, but it is a game that has a climactic feel. It is 14 years since they last met competitively, but memories of that game remain fresh. The image of Amr Zaki turning sharply in the box in that Cup of Nations semi-final, sending Kolo Touré running in the wrong direction as he powered by to score stands as the defining one of Egypt’s period of dominance when they won three Cups of Nations in a row under Hassan Shehata.

Egypt won 4-1, a crushing victory over the Ivorian golden generation. That was a brilliant side, defensively ruthless with creative midfielders – Ahmed Hassan, Mohamed Aboutreika, Osama Hosny – and in each tournament a striker who hit form at the right time. They were also mentally tough: victory in Ghana in 2008 was the first time a north African side had won a Cup of Nations in sub-Saharan Africa, a feat they repeated in Angola two years later.

The present squad have the best player Egypt has produced, one of the best players in the world, in Mohamed Salah, but it has nothing like the same depth of quality. Progress through World Cup qualifying – they face Senegal in a play-off in March – has been functional. Away from home, playing on the break, they were able to open up a little, but four goals scored in three home games felt underwhelming, as did Carlos Queiroz’s reluctance to be bullish about Egypt’s chances at the Cup of Nations. From his days coaching Portugal’s youth sides 30 years ago, Queiroz has favoured a cautious, possession-driven approach.

That hasn’t changed in Cameroon. Egypt had the sixth-most possession in the group stage but only the 11th-most shots. Every game finished 1-0 – a defeat to Nigeria and wins over