By Samindra Kunti in Doha, Qatar
December 16 – Algeria broke Qatari hearts on Wednesday, eliminating the Arab Cup hosts 2-1 in the semifinals following a dramatic, seesaw 19 minutes of injury time. The African champions will take on Tunisia in the final.
In Wednesday’s second semi-final, Polish referee Symon Marciniak and his fourth official became protagonists after they added nine minutes of extra time. The Algerians had controlled the match and were on course to a simple 1-0 win courtesy of a 60th minute strike from Benlamri Djamel, but Mohammed Muntar equalized in the 97th minute with a header, prompting Marciniak to stretch injury time to 19 minutes.
He reviewed Muntari’s equaliser and awarded Algeria a penalty in the 114th minute. Mohammed Belaili’s spot kick was saved but he scored the winner in the rebound.
Throughout the match Felix Sanchez’s team struggled to replicate their blistering attacking form from the quarterfinals against a well-organised Algerian defense. They will take on Egypt in the bronze medal match.
“They played their hearts out, gave it their all, fought with spirit,” said Algeria coach Madjid Bougherra. “They deserve this win. I tip my hat to them. Physically, the last 20 minutes were very difficult. It is incredible that we had almost 19 minutes of stoppage time.”
On a day dominated by injury-time drama, Egypt captain Amr El Sulaya eliminated his own team in the semi-final against Tunisia when he deviated a free kick into his own net in the 95th minute.
The Tunisians dominated the encounter and threatened from set pieces. The biggest chance of the match fell to Egypt, but Mostafa Fahty skied his attempt from near the penalty spot. Ahmed Hegazi and Marwan Hamdi also missed opportunities for the Egyptians.
Ultimately, their opponents were rewarded for their enterprise and secured a deserved victory. It was Egypt’s first defeat in 19 games since their elimination from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
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