Debutant Omar Marmoush fires Egypt past tough Libya as Pharaohs climb to top of Group F
Egypt have grabbed important three points to go top of Group F after emerging victorious 1-0 against Libya in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifications.
The Pharaohs were placed in Group F alongside Libya, Angola, and Gabon, winning the opening game against Angola, before being held to a draw away in Gabon.
Going into Libya clash, Egypt wanted nothing but victory, as only first place in the group stage advances to the next stage of World Cup qualifiers.
The starting XI saw the inclusion of many surprises with Akram Tawfik and Ahmed Fetouh starting at full-back, with Omar Marmoush making his international debut at right wing.
Mostafa Mohamed led the attacking line with Mohamed Salah, while Abdallah El-Said, Amr El-Sulya, and Mohamed Elneny completed the three-man midfield.
Finally, and as usual, Mohamed El-Shennawy started between the sticks, with both Mahmoud Hamdy El-Wensh and Ahmed Hegazi infront of him.
Unfruitful ball possession summarizes the first half of the game, despite Egypt controlling the rhythm of the game, they couldn’t find their way to the Libyan net.
As expected, Mohamed Salah couldn’t find the space to shine, and it was Mostafa Mohamed and Abdallah El-Said came close to score, but the hero of the first-half was goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy.
If not for El-Shennawy’s heroic save and the ball hitting the post, Libya could’ve even taken the lead through their only chance through Mohamed Zubya.
Egypt have grabbed important three points to top Group F after emerging victorious 1-0 against Libya in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifications.
The Pharaohs were placed in Group F alongside Libya, Angola, and Gabon, winning the opening game against Angola, before being held to a draw away in Gabon.
Going into Libya clash, Egypt wanted nothing but victory, as only first place in the group stage advances to the next stage of World Cup qualifiers.
The starting XI saw the inclusion saw many surprises with Akram Tawfik and Ahmed Fetouh starting at full-back, with Omar Marmoush making his international debut at right wing.
Mostafa Mohamed led the attacking line with Mohamed Salah, while Abdallah El-Said, Amr El-Sulya, and Mohamed Elneny completed the three-man midfield.
Finally, and as usual, Mohamed El-Shennawy started between the sticks, with both Mahmoud Hamdy El-Wensh and Ahmed Hegazi infront of him.
Unfruitful ball possession summarizes the first half of the game, despite Egypt controlling the rhythm of the game, they couldn’t find their way to the Libyan net.
As expected, Mohamed Salah couldn’t find the space to shine, and it was Mostafa Mohamed and Abdallah El-Said came close to score, but the hero of the first-half was goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy.
If not for El-Shennawy’s heroic save and the ball hitting the post, Libya could’ve even taken the lead through their only chance through Mohamed Zubya.
Just a few minutes before the half-time whistle, Mohamed Salah won a free-kick on the edge of the Libya box, and the Liverpool star stepped up to take it himself, forcing the keeper to a great save.
No substitutions took place at half-time, as Queiroz relied on the same team that started the game as Libya remained parking the bus and depending on the counter-attacks.
But less than five minutes after the restart, Egypt finally managed to break the deadlock and it was through debutant Omar Marmoush.
The Stuttgart forward recieved Amr El-Sulya short pass at the edge of the box, before dribbling past the defendes to find the space for himself and then sent spectacular screamer past Libya keeper Mohamed Nashnoush.
The game was relatively calm after the goal, with Libya becoming more on the offensive side, which forced Queiroz to bring on Tarek Hamed for Abdallah El-Said to control the midfield.
Mostafa Mohamed had another huge chance to double Egypt’s lead in the 70th minute after Ahmed Fetouh’s cross found the Galatasary forward totally unmarked, but his header was weak and didn’t trouble the keeper.
In the 77th minute, the game saw the introduction of Ramadan Sobhi for the hero of the night Omar Marmoush and the Pyramids FC winger’s pace made the difference.
For the third time in the game, Mostafa Mohamed had another chance to score in the 90th, but his powerful shot was once again denied by Nashnoush.
In orde to waste time, Queiroz brought on three new players just one minute before the final whistle, with Hamdi Fathi, Ahmed Hassan Kouka, and Ahmed Fathi replacing Amr El-Sulya, Mostafa Mohamed, and Akram Tawfik respectively.
The Egyptians kept the ball at their feet but with less vicious attempts on the Libyan defenses for the game to end 1-0.
In the other confrontation of Group F, Angola achieved their first victory over Gabon 3-1 at home, thanks to goals from Ambrosini Salvador, Ary Papel, and Jonathan Buatu, while Axel Meye scored Gabon’s only goal.
The Group F standings are currently Egypt in first place with seven points, Libya are second with six points, Angola lie third with three points, and Gabon are in last place with only one point.
Egypt will face Libya once again three days from now, Monday October 11, but this time in Benghazi, with a victory nearing them closer than ever of advancing from their group.
Source: KingFut
