CAIRO: Substitutes Peter Crouch and Shaun Wright-Philips turned Egypt’s lead through Mohamed Zidan’s goal in the first half into a 3-1 English victory Wednesday night at Wembly stadium in London.
With this loss, Egypt keeps its habit of losing the friendly following every African cup victory after it previously lost to Spain 2-0 in 2006 and to Argentina 2-0 in 2008.
The match started with a serious English threat through Frank Lampard who wasted a clear chance after receiving a land cross from Theo Walcott in the absence of Egyptian defenders but his shot was tipped away by El-Hadary.
Egypt responded through a weak ball from Wael Gomaa using Zidan’s corner to put the ball gently in the far corner but Jermain Defoe was there to clear the ball. However, Egyptian players took time to restore confidence after a series of mispasses and defensive errors that could have cost the team early goals.
In the 16th minute, Zidan fired a powerful shot from the right side that went high above the bar in the second serious threat to England’s keeper, Robert Green, after Emad Meteb’s header that also missed the target.
Egyptian efforts resulted in a goal in the 23rd minute after Zidan received Hosni Abd-Rabou’s long ball outside the box and dribbled through defense players to score the game opener.
While Egyptian players tried to continue their pressure as not to allow the English team to form a threat to El-Hadary, several defensive mistakes led to a serious chance for Lampard after a deflected corner kick from Egyptian defenders reached him, but his shot hit the ground and went over the bar.
In the 40th minute, El-Hadary made a brilliant save to prevent Defoe from scoring after he found himself in front of the goal in a one-on-one with the keeper.
Both wings, Sayed Moawad and Ahmed Al Mohammadi, were the key behind Egyptian attacks during the first half; they found the space to run and send crosses while attracting defenders to create space for strikers and midfielders to shoot on goal.
However, mispasses from Ahmed Hassan and Hossam Ghali spoiled many promising Egyptian attacks and turned them into dangerous counter attacks for the three lions.
In the second half, Fabio Capello, England’s coach, made two substitutions, fielding Peter Crouch and Wright-Philips instead of Defoe and Walcott in an attempt to increase offensive efficiency.
Crouch didn’t disappoint as he scored the equalizer for England in 56th minute using Gareth Barry land cross.
Following the goal, England showed an improved defensive organization and continued to pressure the Egyptians in their half, preventing them from forming organized attacks and leaving Meteb and Zidan isolated.
However, it wasn’t until the 64th minute when Hassan Shehata substituted out of form Ahmed Hassan and Meteb with Amr Zaki and Ahmed “Gedo Nagi who added to Egypt’s offensive force.
In the 74th minute, James Milner’s strong shot deflected from El-Hadary to find Wright-Philips who buried it into the net, making it 2-1 for England and sending local fans into celebrations.
Six minutes later, Crouch scored his second and England’s third goal in a carbon copy of his first goal despite doubts that he was offside when he received Wright-Philips’ cross.
Shehata fielded Mohamed Abdel-Shafi and Mohamed Abou-Trika instead of Moawad and Zidan; however, they failed to have an impact on the score despite gaining possession and creating chances for the Egyptian team.
In their post match comments, both managers attributed the breakdown of the Egyptian team in the second half to the decreased stamina of Egyptian players who exerted too much effort during the first half.
“We played a serious game in the first half and attacked the English team, but our effort declined in the second half which caused the loss as well as committing several defensive mistakes, said Shawky Gharib, Egypt’s assistant coach.
“The Egyptians outplayed us in the first half so I asked my players to put more pressure on them in the second half, Capello said.
“I would like to thank Crouch for his two goals; he usually plays with his head but today he showed that he can score from ground balls as well, he added.
The game comes as a preparation for England to their game against Algeria in the World Cup next June.
“I have learned a lot about the North African school which our opponents, Algeria, belongs to, Capello said.
