CAIRO: Over 60,000 fans at the Cairo Stadium and millions in front of their television sets were on the edge of their seats until the 80th minute, when Ahmed “Boogy Fathy scored Egypt’s fourth goal against Italy and his personal second, to start celebrating their qualification to the round of 16.
While most fans were hoping for a draw or a close win at best, Group A’s decisive match turned to be a thriller ending with a 4-2 score for Egypt after a nerve-wracking back and forth between both teams.
“We presented a drama to the fans today and unfortunately we were the reason behind it, because of some big mistakes in the defense, Miroslav Soukop, Egyptian team coach, said after the game.
“But we were playing against a strong opponent and mistakes must happen, he added.
The Italians made it clear from the beginning that they won’t be an easy opponent by facing the Egyptian team’s enthusiasm with early pressure on them, forcing them to commit defensive errors and miss-passes.
Soukup made several changes in the line-up from previous matches; Hesham Mohamed, Ahmed Shokry and Hossam Hassan replaced Ahmed Magdy, Mahmoud Toba and Hossam Arafat.
Mohamed Talaat almost scored in the first minute using a long ball but his shot was too easy for Vincenzo Fiorillo to handle, Shehab Ahmed followed him with an individual attack, dribbling through Italian defense but his shot was deflected from the defense.
Meanwhile Italian counter attacks gave the Egyptian fans a scare every time the ball reached Umberto Eusepi.
However, Egypt managed to score its first after Talaat assisted a loose ball to Shokry who fired a shot from outside the box to find its way to the net.
In the 29th minute, a double defensive error from Ali El Araby and Saad El Din resulted in Eusepi scoring the equalizer for Italy.
Following the goal, the battle for midfield restarted and with the game getting physical, continuous objections on the referee saw Francesco Rocca, Italy s coach getting a red card and was forced to watch the match from the stands.
While the referee was getting ready to whistle for the first half, Ahmed Shokry used Islam Ramadan s cross to score Egypt s second with his right foot.
The second half started with pressure from Egypt wasting a couple of chances but as the Italian team began to restore control again, substitute Michaelangelo Albertazzi headed a corner kick into Egypt s net.
As Egyptian fans feared that Paraguay s scenario would be repeated; Soukup quickly tried to change things by taking out Mostafa “Afroto Mahmoud and Mohamed Talaat and fielding Boogy and Mostafa Galal.
Boogy didn t disappoint, scoring Egypt s third from his very first touch in the game; his goal celebration, however, was angry as he headed to the bench yelling at someone but his teammates grabbed him back into the field.
Boogy again was Egypt s savior as he scored a beautiful fourth goal after receiving a long ball on his chest then shooting a land ball that Fiorillo couldn t help but watch pass by.
His celebration this time was extraordinary, gathering his mates around him and doing a victory dance in a circle.
To fans’ surprise, Trinidad and Tobago refused to bid the tournament farewell without leaving their mark as they held Paraguay to a goalless draw, allowing Egypt to top the group with six points.
Egypt now should wait for the results of Groups C, D, E to know their opponent in the round of 16 on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
We always give a chance to other teams to attack and score but a good defense comes from playing a lot of matches, Soukup said.
I can t criticize the players after a wide victory like this; we played in front of 70,000 fans and won, we can forgive them for any mistakes they did, he added.
In Group B matches, Spain continued their winning streak and kept a clean sheet against Venezuela winning 3-0 to top their group; Nigeria on the other hand, scored five goals only against Tahiti hoping that they will be enough for a qualification spot.
The super eagles will have to wait for group E matches and the results of Czech Republic and Costa Rica.
Saturday Schedule
Group E
Costa Rica vs. Czech Republic – Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria (18:45 CLT)
Australia vs. Brazil – Port Said Stadium, Port Said (18:45 CLT)
Group F
Hungary vs. UAE – Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria (21:30 CLT)
South Africa vs. Honduras – Port Said Stadium, Port Said (21:30 CLT)
Sunday is a day off for all teams.
