October 16, (THEWILL) – Egypt let a lead slip, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in a friendly match played at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.
Egypt started brightly and came close to scoring in the 19th minute when Mohamed Salah struck the woodwork. However, they suffered a blow when Mohamed Hany was sent off in the 27th minute for a reckless challenge. The score was 0-0 at half-time despite Egypt’s numerical disadvantage.
The seven-time African champions took the lead after the break when Hamdy Fathy netted from close range in the 62nd minute to make it 1-0. However, Algeria fought back and grabbed a late equaliser through Islam Slimani in added time to seal a 1-1 draw.
The Pharaohs are unbeaten across their last two matches and can now turn their focus to World Cup qualifiers next month against Djibouti and Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, Algeria extended their unbeaten streak to eight matches ahead of their own World Cup qualifiers against Somalia and Mozambique next month.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.