Egypt secures a last-minute draw in Gabon

CAIRO-5 September 2021: Egypt national team achieved a 1-1 draw against Gabon on Sunday in the second round of the African World Cup Qualifiers.

Gabon opened the score in the 73th minute by Jim Allevinah while the Pharaohs equalizer was scored in the last minute of the game by Mostafa Mohamed.

Hossam El Badry, Egypt national team manager, made five changes from the starting line-up that faced Angola in the first round.

Mohamed Salah, Ahmed Tawfik, Omar Gaber, Ayman Ashraf and Hamdy Fathy started the game as El Badry relied on boosting the power of the midfield and giving Salah the space to run behind the defenders.

Ashraf had a clear chance to open the score when he received a pass from Mohamed Magdy Afsha on the left flank. He entered the opposition’s box and decided to send a tricky shot but his ball missed the target.

Mohamed El Shenawy, our goalkeeper, made two heroic saves to keep his net clean in the first half, which ended in a goalless draw.

In the second half, Egypt started pushing forward, searching for the opening goal and started to increase their presence in the home team’s final third.

The Egyptians were down to 10 men after Gaber received his second yellow card after a late challenge against a Gabonese player.

Gabon benefited from the situation and managed to open the score through an impressive shot from Allevinah, which found El Shenawy’s bottom corner.

The Egyptians failed to create clear chances in the remaining minutes but a beautiful pass from Salah Mohsen found Mostafa Mohamed who shot the ball to the goalkeeper’s body. The shot rebounded to Mostafa who put the ball in the back of the net, securing a vital point for the 7-time Africa Cup of Nations Champions away from home.

Egypt are now four points after two games and they are temporarily atop of the group table as Libya, who have three points, will face Angola on Tuesday.