DOHA – The last-four line-up at the FIFA Arab Cup is complete after Egypt and Algeria edged epic encounters to set up semi-finals against Tunisia and Qatar respectively.
The duo emerged triumphant after two very different but equally thrilling matches, both of which ebbed and flowed before going into extra time and, in the later kick-off, beyond.
Algeria needed penalties to edge a titanic tussle with Morocco, while Egypt came back from a goal down before battling back to dominate and, ultimately, overpower a valiant Jordan side, FIFA.com reported.
Egypt 3-1 Jordan
The Pharaohs fought back from a goal down to defeat Jordan 3-1 at Al Janoub Stadium, with two goals coming in extra-time.
Yazan Alnaimat had opened the scoring in the 12th minute for Jordan, before Egypt’s Marwan Hamdy equalised moments before half-time.
Winger Ahmed Refaat and Marwan Dawoud scored for the Pharaohs in the 100th and 119th minute to secure 3-1 victory.
Egypt will now face Tunisia in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
“It was a beautiful quarter-final. Egyptians will be happier, of course, but I think Jordan fans can be very proud too because their team played some wonderful football,” Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz said.
“They were better than us at the start. We were a bit nervous and they were on fire. But then there was a fantastic comeback from my players. It was beautiful to see,” Queiroz added.
Only once in their last 27 international matches, Egypt conceded more than one goal. It’s a remarkable statistic; almost as remarkable, in fact, as the fact it remained intact throughout a first-half on Saturday that was laden with opportunities for their opponents.
Having faced just two shots on target throughout the entire group stage, Egypt’s goalkeeper Mohammed el-Shenawy needed to deal with five from Jordan in the opening 45 alone – all of which might easily have ended up in the net.
Ultimately, only a mixture of El-Shenawy’s excellence and ill fortune prevented the underdogs extending their early lead, and when Ali Olwan saw a superb shot flash off the underside of the crossbar and rebound to safety off the post, Jordan must have sensed that this was not to be their day.
Sure enough, Egypt equalised, emerged as a team transformed in the second-half, strengthened their stranglehold in extra-time and departed the field as genuinely deserving winners.
As enthusiasm for the FIFA Arab Cup continues to grow, crowds have been increasing and so too have the noise levels.
Algeria 2-2 Morocco (5-3 on penalties)
The first penalty shootout of the Arab Cup took place in Doha and it was Algeria who prevailed thanks to Mohamed Amine Tougai’s winning spot-kick.
Algeria will now face Qatar in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
Algeria first took the lead through Yacine Brahimi in the 62nd minute, but that lasted all of two minutes as Mohamed Nahiri brought Morocco level.
It wasn’t until extra-time that the Desert Warriors regained control, this time through Youcef Belaïli, but Morocco, again, had an answer from defender Badr Benoun.
With extra-time up and scores locked at two-apiece, it was penalties that would decide the victor.
By almost any and every metric, Morocco was the team of the group stage. They won all three games without conceding a goal, scored more than anyone else and even attempted more shots and won more corners in the process. But they hadn’t run into an opponent quite like Algeria.
So it was that this erstwhile unstoppable Atlas Lions team suddenly met its match, with an impossibly tight and evenly matched encounter illuminated by a moment of real magic.
Youcef Belaili was the man to etch his name into Algerian football folklore with an audacious spin and long-range volley that looped over the stranded Anas Zniti and very nearly lifted the roof off the Al Thumama Stadium.
Qatari fans, though, had seen this kind of thing from Belaili before; indeed, he scored a near-identical wonder goal for his Doha-based club, Qatar SC. The same man later kicked off the shootout for Algeria, setting the tone – and the standard – with an ice-cool finish.
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