Relief as Egypt secure last-gasp World Cup lifeline

14 November 2009 17:25

Algerian newspapers carry pictures of injuried members of the Algerian football squad after their team bus came under attack from stonethrowers in Cairo. Egypt has stepped up security for a crunch World Cup qualifier between Algeria and Egypt, with police vowing tight protection for the Algerians whose bus was stoned on their arrival in Cairo.

CAIRO (AFP) - A roar of delight erupted here Saturday as Egypt beat Algeria, setting up a World Cup play-off with their bitter rivals after a tense encounter just days after a violent attack on the visiting team's bus.

Emad Moteab scored five minutes into stoppage time to earn Egypt a 2-0 victory that led to wild celebrations at the final whistle that soon spilled onto the streets of the capital.

Trouble flared after the game when a group of Egyptian fans hurled stones at buses ferrying Algerian fans away from the stadium, an AFP journalist observed.

"Egypt, Egypt!" shouted around 70,000 delirious fans packed inside the Cairo International Stadium, as fireworks lit the sky.

"I knew they would score at the last minute, this is Egypt. I knew we were going to win," said Yussef, a young "Pharoahs" supporter.

Another emotional Egyptian fan, Hani, described the result as "a dream," while his compatriot Mohammed proclaimed: "We deserved to win against Algeria. We are the Pharaohs!"

The result left the North African neighbours level on points and goal difference at the top of Group C so they will meet again next Wednesday in Sudan to decide which country goes to South Africa.

Watching on with broad smiles of relief were Gamal and Alaa Mubarak, the sons of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who promptly sent the team a message of congratulations.

The build-up to the match had been marred by hostility between supporters, including stones being thrown at the Algerian team bus as it drove from Cairo airport to their hotel and Internet and media wars of words.

World football governing body FIFA confirmed to AFP that three Algerian players had sustained injuries, potentially ruling them out of the showdown.

"We saw that three players had been injured -- Khaled Lemmouchia on the head, Rafik Halliche above the eye and Rafik Saifi on the arm," FIFA representative Walter Gagg said.

"These weren't superficial injuries," he stressed. "With the stitches needed, we will have to see if these players can play. The team doctor has still to make a decision on that."

Gagg said Algeria's goalkeeping coach had suffered concussion, and described the bus itself as in a "very bad way with broken windows and traces of blood on the floor".

For the Algerians, Egyptian security officials and the media added insult to the injuries by saying that the Algerian team faked the attack.

The Egyptian press reported that an initial investigation showed the Algerians had smashed the windows of the bus with emergency hammers.

The violence had repercussions abroad too.

An angry crowd attacked the homes of Egyptian workers at M'sila in southeastern Algeria, while a group of young men ransacked the building of an Egyptian company, reports said.

In Algiers, all streets leading to the Egyptian embassy were closed from Thursday evening and security measures installed at Egyptian companies, an AFP reporter said.

And in France's southern port of Marseille, which has many residents of Algerian origin, security at the Egyptian consulate was boosted and 600 police officers flooded the city centre.

But authorities in Cairo breathed a collective sigh of relief after the 2-0 result in favour of the home team saw concerns about violence ease.

The rival national teams have a history of bad blood, with riots breaking out after Egypt defeated Algeria in a 1989 match in Cairo.

Algeria player Lakhdar Belloumi was tried in absentia and sentenced to prison in Egypt for allegedly seriously injuring the Egyptian team doctor with a bottle after that match.

Interpol issued an arrest warrant for Belloumi over the incident.

Egypt last qualified for the World Cup in 1990, and Algeria in 1986.