Egypt Surges to the Top of AFCON's Odd Record: Own Goals Bring the Crown

Egypt Tops AFCON's All-Time Own-Goal List

Egypt sealed its position atop the Africa Cup of Nations history for own goals after left-back Ahmed Fattouh scored an own goal against Ivory Coast on Saturday, in the Morocco 2025 quarterfinals.

With this goal, Egypt raised its tally to four own-goals in the tournament's history, ahead of Burkina Faso, Algeria, and Tunisia (three each).

Also on the list of Egyptian players who scored own goals in AFCON history are Ghanem Sultan against Guinea in March 1976, Ahmed El-Sayed against the Democratic Republic of Congo in February 2006, and Ahmed Hassan against Cameroon in January 2010.

The Pharaohs progressed to the quarterfinals after beating Benin 3-1, while Ivory Coast defeated Burkina Faso 3-0.

Note: Sometimes football history writes itself with a wink; this time the ball took the scenic route into the net and Egypt still walked away smiling—mostly at the scoreboard.

Punchline 1: If luck were a goalkeeper, Egypt would bench him—he keeps letting in own goals, but somehow they still keep scoring the right ones.

Punchline 2: Maybe Egypt should start charging admission for the most dramatic mis-kick moments; fans would call it “the redirect of destiny.”