“Al-Abyad” draws with the Egyptian national team and maintains its chances in the Arab Cup

The UAE national team came out with a positive draw against its Egyptian counterpart, 1-1, today, Saturday, in the matches of the second round of the third group of the Arab Cup “Qatar 2025”, maintaining a glimmer of hope for reaching the second round of the tournament.

Al-Abyad now needs to win against Kuwait in the next round, which is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, waiting for the Egyptian team to lose or even draw against Jordan, which officially guaranteed its qualification after beating Kuwait today, 3-1.

The UAE national team missed out on a victory that was within reach after playing one of its best matches under the leadership of its Romanian coach Olario Cosmin at the tactical level, as its players missed many opportunities that could have secured the three points.

The first half was below average and the play was limited to the midfield, as it was clear that both teams were extremely careful for fear of receiving any goal that would confuse the calculations.

Despite this, the national team could have gained the lead in the 32nd minute, when Bruno Oliveira was alone in the Egyptian team’s goal, but goalkeeper Mohamed Bassam brilliantly saved the situation.

On the other hand, the Pharaohs had only one other chance in this half, through a header from defender Yassin Merhi, which went past the post.

In the second half, Cosmin succeeded in luring the Egyptian team into an attacking rush, to find a gap in its opponent’s defense, and in fact, he achieved what he wanted on more than one occasion, the most notable of which was in the 60th minute, which witnessed the only goal of the match, when Nicolas Jimenez penetrated the Egyptians’ defenses and passed the ball on a golden platter to Caio Lucas, who easily put it into the net.

The Pharaohs pressed with all their lines in an effort to achieve an equalizer, which they were able to achieve five minutes before the final, thanks to Marawan Hamdi’s header, taking advantage of substitute Karim Al Iraqi’s cross.