Pharaohs take revenge on Fennecs

By Khalil Hareb in Amman
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-01-30

[KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images ] Mohamed Zidan of Egypt celebrates his goal against Algeria.

The African Cup of Nations is stirring the passions of Arab fans, and Egypt is looking to take home the championship for the third time in row. After demolishing Algeria 4-0 on Thursday (January 28th) the Pharaohs will face Ghana in the finals on Sunday in Luanda, Angola.

Egypt walked over Algeria in a match that saw three Algerian players draw red cards. The Fennecs ended up with only eight men on the pitch, hardly a recipe for winning against a team as skilled as the Pharaohs.

The Pharaohs' revenge is sweet because Algeria knocked Egypt out of the World Cup qualifiers by winning two matches out of three, the most recent one in Sudan. The quarter-finals had gone well for the two Arab sides. Algeria beat the Elephants of Côte d'Ivoire 3-2 on January 24th, and Egypt smashed Cameroon 3-1 the next day. Now Egypt's remaining obstacle is Ghana, who beat Nigeria 1-0 in Thursday's other semi-final.

Elsewhere in football, Egypt's Ahly participated in a friendly match against Dubai Club on January 24th. The event marked the retirement of star Walid Ebeid. The ex-Dubai and UAE international star called it quits at the age of 32. Ebeid scored an incredible 87 goals throughout his career on the pitch. Dubai Club played the match with most of the UAE national team's former and current stars participating.

In other football news, Syria's national side tied with Sweden 1-1 in a friendly in Damascus on January 23rd. Syria is playing Lebanon in an Asia cup qualifier in March although the Syrians have already qualified for the finals in Qatar 2011 along with China from Group D.

In the Kuwaiti Volleyball League 2009-2010, Qadsia beat Fahaheel 3-0 on Monday (January 25th) in one of several lopsided matches. Qadsia started the match well and kept a big lead throughout the match, 25-17, 25-16, 25-13. Salibikhaet failed to secure a win, losing to Sahel 3-0. Sahel was clearly the better side, playing a very fast game, winning 25-13, 25-20, 25-16. In other matches Kazma defeated Yarmouk 25-17, 25-14, 25-15. On Tuesday, Arabi beat Jahra 25-15, 25-17, 29-27. Tadamon fell to Kuwait SC at home 25-20, 25-15, 25-14.

In other sports, Iran's Mohram took home the gold in the Dubai International Basketball Championship 2010 final, beating Lebanon's Riyadi 85-76 on January 23rd. Meanwhile, Syria's Jalaa lost the bronze to Philippines' Smart Gilas 107-98. Mohram's Mohammed Samad was recognized as the best player, and his coach Mustafa Hashemi was named best coach in the tournament.

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