Egypt defeat Algeria

The players are not allowed to watch TV

Score: Egypt 5-2 Algeria

Egypt finally found their scoring touch after just one goal in their three previous qualifying ties to revive their hopes in Group C.

The tone was set as early as the seventh minute when Mohammed Barakat scored after a fantastic solo run appeared to have mesmerised the Algeria defence completely.

But Algeria drew level soon after when Abdelhafid Tasfaout scored in the 12th minute.

  Group C Table

1 Senegal P4 GD 5-1 Pts 6

2 Egypt P4 GD 6-3 Pt 6

3 Morocco P4 GD 2-1 Pts 6

4 Algeria P4 GD 5-8 Pts 4

5 Namibia P4 GD 1-6 Pts 2

Egypt took the lead again in the 17th minute when Abdel Satar Sabry fell on the ground unmarked in the Algeria penalty area, but still managed to score with a header from his near-prostrate position.

Then in the 37th minute Algeria again managed to draw level after a goalmouth scramble found Djamel Belmadi, whose fantastic overhead scissors shot landed in the roof of the hosts' net.

But within a minute of that goal Abdel Zaher El Saqqa put the Egyptians in the lead for the third time with a well-worked free-kick from outside the Algeria box.

Half time: Egypt 3-2 Algeria

Algeria fought back bravely and would feel cheated about not earning a penalty in the second half.

But it was the hosts who crowned their efforts with two more goals from Tarek El Said very late in the game (89th and 92nd minutes) to enhance Egypt's chances of making it to Japan/Korea 2002.

It is the Pharaohs' first victory in this campaign and they now lie in second position behind Senegal in the Group C table with six points.

Out of bounds

The presence of the experienced Hany Ramzy will do the Pharaohs' defence a lot of good

Egypt spent the past week preparing in Ismailia - 120 kilometres north of Cairo - and arrived in the capital on Saturday, where they maintained a closed camp at an hotel near to the stadium.

Coach Mahmoud Al-Gohary took their preparations so seriously that he ordered the hotel management to remove all TV sets from the players' rooms.

The players were also banned from any of the usual entertainments and also not allowed to talk to the media or the fans until after the game.

Algerian edge

The game marked the 17th official encounter between the two nations.

Algeria had won six times, and drew five, leaving Egypt with five wins.

Squad: Nader El Sayed, Essam El Hadary, Mohamed Abdel Monsef, Hani Ramzy, Abdel Zaher El Saqqa, Reda Seka, Shady Mohamed, Sayed Abdel Hafez, Mohamed Barakat, Ahmed Hassan, Tarek El Said, Mohamed Emara, Abdel Satar Sabry, Hazem Emam , Tamer Abdel Hamid, Mohamed El Yamani, Mazhar Abdel Rahman, Ahmed Hossam, Islam El Shater, and Walid Abdel Latif.