Doha (AFP)
Egypt reversed its early delay against “wounded” Jordan, and beat it 3-1 after extension, to reach the Arab Cup semi-finals, at the World Cup Stadium in Qatar.
Egypt will play in the semi-finals with Tunisia, who qualified at the expense of Oman 2-1, on Wednesday at 974 Stadium in Doha.
In front of almost full stands at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakra, which can accommodate forty thousand spectators, Jordan opened the scoring early through Yazan Al Naimat (12), and was close to doubling the numbers, before Egypt avoided a difficult situation, and tied through Marwan Hamdi in the last gasp of the match. first half.
In the second, Egypt dominated and increased its danger, without realizing the net, but in the first extra period, the pressure of the Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz’s squad resulted in a second goal for the substitute Ahmed Refaat “100”, and a third for the other substitute Marwan Daoud “119”.
Jordan started the match with one of its most prominent defenders due to injuries, but the players of the Iraqi coach Adnan Hamad, who returned in the middle of this year to lead the “Nashma”, presented a disciplined match in both the defensive and offensive terms, especially in the first half, before they showed fatigue in the second and extension.
The Jordanians missed Muhammad Al-Damiri, Ahmed Seriwa, Baha Faisal and Yazan Al-Arab due to the injury, and Muhannad Khairallah after he was infected with the Corona virus, so only seven players sat on the bench.
As for Egypt, the heart of the Saudi Federation defense was absent, Ahmed Hegazy, Ayman Ashraf and Akram Tawfiq.
Egypt, holder of the 1992 title led by Mahmoud El-Gohari, who gave a lot to Jordanian football, participates in a local squad without its professionals in Europe, led by Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.
On the other hand, Jordan, which experienced the disappointment of an early farewell from the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, is the most participating in the Arab Cup “9”, the best of which were in 1988 and 2002 when it reached the semi-finals.
The Egyptian team qualified as the leader of Group D, with a fair play difference from Algeria with 7 points from two wins over Lebanon 1-0 and Sudan 5-0, and a draw with Algeria 1-1.
While Jordan qualified for the quarter-finals, occupying second place in Group C with 6 points from two wins over Saudi Arabia 1-0 and Palestine 5-1, behind Morocco, which defeated it 4-0.
Jordan beat its Egyptian counterpart 1-0 in the last match that brought the two teams together in 2016, while the first Iraqi coach, Adnan Hamad, and the second Portuguese, Carlos Queiroz twice in 2012, in two friendly matches, which witnessed 2-2 and 0-0 draws, when Hamad was coach. Jordan and Queiroz coach Iran.
.