Egypt and Libya recorded home wins on Wednesday night in Group F Matchday 1 of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers.
The Pharaohs scored early to beat Angola 1-0 in Cairo, while the Mediterranean Knights needed a stoppage-time goal to beat Gabon 2-1 in Benghazi.
At the June 30 Stadium in Cairo, Egypt had a penalty kick awarded after four minutes for a foul on Ahmed Aboul Fetouh inside the visitors’ area.
From the penalty kick spot, Mohamed “Afsha” Magdy made no mistake to put the Pharaohs ahead.
In spite of being hot favourites to win, the Pharaohs survived numerous scares from Fabio Abreu and his teammates.
However, goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy stood tall to thwart all Angolan scoring chances.
In the second half, chances were rare for both sides, as Hossam Elbadry men cruised to a minimal but vital win at home.
The Pharaohs next stop will be Franceville, where they face Gabon on Sunday.
In the other Group F match, Libya came from behind to secure a home victory in the dying seconds over Patrice Neuveu’s Gabon in Benghazi.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring via Andre Biyogo Poko after 11 minutes.
Just before the half-hour mark, Ali Salama’s header restored parity for the hosts after a corner-kick.
After the goal, Libya pushed even harder for victory, but they had to wait until the second half’s dying seconds.
Four minutes into injury time, Sanad EL Warfali took advantage of a counter-attack to give the Mediterranean Knights a precious victory which put them on top of the group.
Libya will head to Luanda to face Angola on Tuesday.
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