Four Arab teams were in action on Friday in the first leg of Africa’s World Cup play-offs. A place in the biggest tournament on the planet is now just 90 minutes away. Here are five things we learned at Arab News.
1. Despite narrow win, Egypt on course for revenge
After last month’s African Cup of Nations final, which Senegal won on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes, this was always going to be a tight game. The goal came early and it was the result of a moment of quality from Egypt. A lovely pass from Amr El-Sulya found Mohamed Salah in a crowded area and an instinctive shot from the Liverpool star came back off the bar and went in off defender Saliou Ciss.
Both teams had chances in front of 75,000 fans in Cairo but they now go to Senegal for the return match. Anything could happen, but with away goals still in use in Africa and Carlos Queiroz on the sidelines Egypt will fancy their chances. The coach is adept at keeping things tight as he demonstrated at AFCON when his team conceded just two goals in the entire tournament.
The former Real Madrid manager won’t care about entertainment value at all on Wednesday, he will be all about getting that clean sheet. Senegal could face a frustrating evening in front of their own fans and that is exactly what Egypt will be aiming for, now they have something to protect.
2. Algeria not repeating recent mistakes
The pressure was on Algeria and coach Djamel Belmadi ahead of the trip to Cameroon. The 1-0 win was what they needed, not just to put the North Africans into a good position for the second leg, but to restore confidence and optimism after the dreadful African Cup of Nations tournament. Algeria entered the tournament as defending champions and favourites, only to exit in the group stage.
It was a professional and polished performance in Douala with Islam Slimani, already top scorer in qualification, heading the only goal of the game five minutes before the break. Cameroon on home turf always present a difficult test but Algeria defended as a unit and, roared on by about 2,000 of their travelling fans, worked incredibly hard to limit the hosts’ chances. It was, as Belmadi said, “a heroic display.”
A similar level of performance in front of home fans next Wednesday will send the Desert Foxes through to the biggest stage after missing out on Russia.
3. Morocco and Halilhodzic breathe a sigh of relief
A 1-1 draw away to the Democratic Republic of Congo is a decent result for Morocco and fans, players and coach Vahid Halilhodzic will be feeling very relieved. Morocco started brightly but the hosts took the lead after just 12 minutes and grew in confidence.
Morocco struggled to get a grip on midfield and were reduced for long periods to launching high balls forward. When Ryan Mmaee ballooned a penalty over the bar early in the second half, it wasn’t looking like their night. With 20 minutes remaining, Halilhodzic, the target of plenty of criticism for falling out with stars Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui, brought on Tarik Tissoudali and Ayoub El-Kaabi. Five minutes later, the two combined for a beautiful goal with El-Kaabi heading down a long ball for Tissoudali to smash it home first time.
That substitution may just have saved the tie for Morocco.
4. Tunisia do the job in Mali but could have won the tie
After a vital 1-0 win away from home in the first leg, Tunisia won’t spare much of a thought for Moussa Sissoko but they should. The Malian defender, just 21, scored the only goal of the game into his own net after 36 minutes. His back-pass from just outside the area had too much on it and the goalkeeper just could not get there. Just four minutes later, the Standard Liege player was adjudged to have brought down Seifeddine Jaziri and was shown a straight red. From that point on, it was an uphill challenge for Mali on what was a hot evening in Bamako.
Tunisia will feel that they should have scored more goals and had the chances to do so. Going back home with a two-goal cushion would surely have been enough. While the Carthage Eagles are in the driving seat, they still have work to do.
5. A good night overall
All four results for Arab teams were pretty good and there is optimism for the second legs. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that all four will make it to Qatar later this year. It would be a special achievement to have four Arab teams from Africa joining Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the World Cup — and there is still a possibility of one out of the UAE, Iraq and the Lebanon making it through the play-offs.
There is, of course, still plenty to do before then, but at half-time in these World Cup play-offs it is safe to say that the coaches of the Arab teams will be telling their players to produce more of the same.