Egypt's hopes to advance to the semi-finals of the 2012 Olympic football competition came to an abrupt end Saturday (August 4th) when it lost 3-0 to Japan.

The Egyptian squad fell behind early when Kensuke Nagai scored in the fourteenth minute. The contest was close, however, over most of the first half, with Egypt pressing on the Japanese goal several times.

However, after Egypt's Saadeldin Saad was ejected for a rough tackle in the 41st minute, the tide turned in Japan's favour.

Goals by Maya Yoshida and Yuki Otsu in the second half sealed the game for the Japanese squad.

Japan now advances to play the winner of the Senegal-Mexico game for a trip to the gold medal final.