Egypt beat Algeria to force playoff for World Cup spot

Egypt grasped the last chance with a last minute goal to keep itself alive for a playoff with Algeria through a 2-0 victory in the Group C of African qualifiers for 2010 World Cup on Saturday.

The 2-0 victory was just enough for Egypt to level Algeria on points and goal difference, forcing a playoff to happen in Sudan for the World Cup slot of World Cup.

The Egyptians, being the reigning African Champions, have a stronger desire than their rivals to win the make-or-break game.

In the previous games of this group, Egypt took 10 points, while Algeria had already 13 points in hand including a 3-1 win over Egypt at home.

Algeria can afford a single-goal defeat and still qualify directly. Egypt can go through only if they win by three goals. If Egypt wins with two goals, there will be a "winner-take-all" match to be played in Sudan on Wednesday.

In the stadium filled with nearly 80,000 Egyptian fans, the host team launched fierce attack from the beginning and controlled the match in the first half.

The pharaohs scored their first goal just at the second minute of the game in the first wave of their offense. Egyptian forward Amr Zaki tip shot the ball into the net after three consecutive shots of his teammates were saved by the Algerian defenders and goalkeeper.

The first goal ignited fans' hope that Egypt can edge out their rivals, and the second half was still dominated by the hosts with a 66 percent possession. However, the Pharaohs wasted all the opportunities facing the tightened defense of Algeria.

The extraordinary long injury time given by the referee saved the hosts. Emad Meteab knock the ball into the far corner with a head ball at the fifth minute of the injury time.

Source: Xinhua