2021 FIFA Arab Cup Group D explained

Group D of the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup took place from 1 to 7 December 2021. The group consisted of Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and Sudan.

The top two teams, Egypt and Algeria, advanced to the quarter-finals.

Teams

Draw positionTeamFinals
appearance
Last
appearance
Previous best
performance
FIFA Rankings
April 2021[1] November 2021[2]
D1 style=white-space:nowrap 3rd 1998 (group stage) data-sort-value="4" Group stage (1988, 1998) 33 32
D2 style=white-space:nowrap 5th 2012 (group stage) data-sort-value="1" Winners (1992) 46 45
D3 style=white-space:nowrap 8th 2012 (group stage) data-sort-value="2" Third place (1963) 93 94
D4 style=white-space:nowrap 4th 2012 (group stage) data-sort-value="3" Group stage (1998, 2002, 2012) 123 124

Standings

In the quarter-finals:

Matches

All times listed are local time.

Algeria vs Sudan

width=25!width=25
GK 23Raïs M'Bolhi (c)
RB 3 Houcine Benayada
CB 4 Djamel Benlamri
CB 19Abdelkader Bedrane
LB 20Ilyes Chetti
CM 18Houssem Eddine Mrezigue
CM 14
RW 11
AM 15
LW 8 Amir Sayoud
CF 9
Substitutions:
MF 17
FW 22
MF 6
FW 13
Manager:
Madjid Bougherra
width=25!width=25
GK 1 Ali Abu Eshrein
RB 13Walid Hassan
CB 4 Amir Kamal
CB 6 Mohamed Ering
LB 3 Faris Abdalla
DM 23Nasr Eldin El Shigail (c)
RM 9
LM 21
AM 19
CF 7
CF 10
Substitutions:
DF 12
MF 14
MF 2
FW 22
FW 11
Manager:
Hubert Velud
Man of the Match:
Baghdad Bounedjah (Algeria)

Assistant referees


Jun Mihara (Japan)
Hiroshi Yamauchi (Japan)
Fourth official


Fernando Hernández Gómez (Mexico)
Video assistant referee


Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)
Assistant video assistant referees


Abdulla Al Marri (Qatar)

Egypt vs Lebanon

Right from the start, Egypt dominated possession, holding 76% of the ball in the first 15 minutes.[3] Despite their dominance on the ball, they could not break through Lebanon's defence, having to resort to harmless crosses and long-distance shots.[4] The first dangerous chance of the game came in the 33rd minute, when Egypt's Ahmed Hegazi headed from Mostafa Fathi's free kick, with Lebanon's Mostafa Matar saving the shot; El Wensh's rebound was cleared off the line by Felix Michel Melki.[5] At half time, the result was 0–0, with Egypt incapable of capitalising from a couple of attacking opportunities.[6] Matar proved decisive once again in the second half, saving a one-on-one attack from Afsha.[7] It was Afsha who broke the deadlock in the 71st minute through a penalty, after Ahmed Abou El Fotouh was brought down inside the penalty area by Alexander Michel Melki.[8] In the final 20 minutes, Lebanon modestly attempted to equalise in vain.[9]

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GK 1 Mohamed El Shenawy
RB 14
CB 11Ahmed Hegazi
CB 15Mahmoud Hamdy
LB 13Ahmed Abou El Fotouh
CM 5
CM 4 Amr El Solia (c)
RW 8
AM 22
LW 9
CF 10
Substitutions:
MF 17
FW 7
MF 21
DF 3
FW 19
DF 12
Manager:
Carlos Queiroz
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GK 21Mostafa Matar
RB 12Alexander Michel Melki
CB 4 Nour Mansour (c)
CB 13Felix Michel Melki
LB 18Kassem El Zein
DM 6 Mouhammed-Ali Dhaini
RM 22Abbas Assi
LM 3
AM 10
SS 20
CF 9
Substitutions:
MF 15
MF 14
FW 17
DF 16
MF 5
Manager:
Ivan Hašek
Man of the Match:
Amr El Solia (Egypt)

Assistant referees


Rafael Foltyn (Germany)
Christian Gittelmann (Argentina)
Fourth official


Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)
Video assistant referee


Christian Dingert (Germany)
Assistant video assistant referees


Kevin Blom (Netherlands)
Tomasz Listkiewicz (Poland)
Rafael Traci (Brazil)

Lebanon vs Algeria

Despite Algeria dominating play, Lebanon brought the first half to a goalless draw thanks to their defending, most notably through their goalkeeper Mostafa Matar and defender Alexander Michel Melki. The second half initially proceeded in a similar fashion to the first, until Youcef Belaïli was brought down in the box by Hussein El Dor; Yacine Brahimi converted the subsequent penalty in the 69th minute. Lebanon reacted from the conceded goal, attempting attacks of their own. In the 78th minute, Houssem Eddine Mrezigue of Algeria was sent off, before Lebanon's Kassem El Zein also got a second yellow card, reducing both teams to 10 men in the final minutes. Following a missed chance by Baghdad Bounedjah one-on-one against the goalkeeper, Algeria doubled their lead in added time after Tayeb Meziani scored from a counter attack.[10]

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GK 21Mostafa Matar
RB 12Alexander Michel Melki
CB 4 Nour Mansour (c)
CB 2
LB 18
CM 5
CM 6 Mouhammed-Ali Dhaini
RW 20
AM 14
LW 16Hassan Chaitou
CF 9 Hilal El-Helwe
Substitutions:
DF 3
MF 10
MF 13
MF 8
FW 17
Manager:
Ivan Hašek
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GK 1 Moustapha Zeghba
RB 3 Houcine Benayada
CB 12Mohamed Amine Tougai
CB 5 Mehdi Tahrat
LB 20Ilyes Chetti
CM 18
CM 14Sofiane Bendebka
RW 15
AM 11Yacine Brahimi (c)
LW 10
CF 9 Baghdad Bounedjah
Substitutions:
FW 7
MF 17
FW 22
Manager:
Madjid Bougherra
Man of the Match:
Yacine Brahimi (Algeria)

Assistant referees


Paweł Sokolnicki (Poland)
Tomasz Listkiewicz (Poland)
Fourth official


Ryuji Sato (Japan)
Video assistant referee


Tomasz Kwiatkowski (Poland)
Assistant video assistant referees


Guillermo Cuadra Fernández (Spain)
Elvis Noupue (Cameroon)
Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

Sudan vs Egypt

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GK 1 Ali Abu Eshrein
RB 18
CB 5 Ahmed Wadah
CB 4 Amir Kamal
LB 3
DM 23Nasr Eldin El Shigail (c)
DM 14
CM 2 Abuaagla Abdalla
RF 9
CF 10
LF 22
Substitutions:
DF 12
DF 6
DF 15
MF 21
MF 19
Manager:
Hubert Velud
width=25!width=25
GK 1 Mohamed El Shenawy
CB 11Ahmed Hegazi
CB 15
CB 12Ayman Ashraf
CM 3 Omar Kamal
CM 4 Amr El Solia (c)
CM 13
RW 21
AM 20Hussein Faisal
LW 7
CF 10
Substitutions:
MF 8
MF 22
FW 19
FW 9
DF 6
Manager:
Carlos Queiroz
Man of the Match:
Hussein Faisal (Egypt)

Assistant referees


Tevita Makasini (Tonga)
Bernard Mutukera (Solomon Islands)
Fourth official


Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)
Video assistant referee


Kevin Blom (Netherlands)
Assistant video assistant referees


Christian Dingert (Germany)
Christian Gittelmann (Germany)
Abdulla Ali Al Marri (Qatar)

Algeria vs Egypt

width=25!width=25
GK 23Raïs M'Bolhi (c)
RB 3 Houcine Benayada
CB 12
CB 19Abdelkader Bedrane
LB 20Ilyes Chetti
CM 17
CM 14Sofiane Bendebka
RW 7
AM 11Yacine Brahimi
LW 10
CF 9
Substitutions:
FW 15
FW 22
MF 6
Manager:
Madjid Bougherra
width=25!width=25
GK 1 Mohamed El Shenawy
RB 11
CB 15Mahmoud Hamdy
CB 5
LB 12
CM 14
CM 4 Amr El Solia (c)
CM 13Ahmed Abou El Fotouh
AM 20Hussein Faisal
CF 9
CF 10
Substitutions:
MF 8
DF 2
MF 17
DF 3
MF 21
Manager:
Carlos Queiroz
Man of the Match:
Yacine Brahimi (Algeria)

Assistant referees


Ezequiel Brailovsky (Argentina)
Gabriel Chade (Argentina)
Fourth official


Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)
Video assistant referee


Guillermo Cuadra Fernández (Spain)
Assistant video assistant referees


Juan Soto (Venezuela)
Danilo Manis (Brazil)
Rafael Traci (Brazil)

Lebanon vs Sudan

Lebanon began the first half strong, with Sudanese goalkeeper Ali Abu Eshrein saving a shot from Rabih Ataya and a close-range header from Maher Sabra. Sudan's only attempts did not threaten Lebanon's goal. Ataya was sent off in the 62nd minute, reducing Lebanon to 10 men. Both Lebanon and Sudan came close to scoring in the 70th and 75th minute respectively, with Fadel Antar and Mohamed Ering having their close-range shots saved. Sudan's Ahmed Wadah received a red card in the 76th minute and both teams headed into the last 14 minutes with 10 men each. Lebanon gained the lead the same minute, with Abu Eshrein punching the subsequent free kick cross into his own net. It proved to be the only goal of the game, which ended in a 1–0 win for Lebanon.[11]

width=25!width=25
GK 23Ali Daher
RB 17
CB 12Alexander Michel Melki
CB 13Felix Michel Melki
LB 3 Maher Sabra
DM 6
RM 16Hassan Chaitou
LM 8
AM 10Mohamad Haidar (c)
SS 20
CF 9
Substitutions:
MF 14
FW 17
DF 2
DF 22
MF 11
Manager:
Ivan Hašek
width=25!width=25
GK 1 Ali Abu Eshrein
CB 5
CB 12Ahmed Bibo
CB 6 Mohamed Ering
RWB13
LWB18Samawal Merghani
DM 14
CM 8
CM 21
CF 7 Ramadan Agab (c)
CF 10
Substitutions:
MF 2
FW 11
MF 23
MF 19
FW 22
Manager:
Hubert Velud
Man of the Match:
Felix Michel Melki (Lebanon)

Assistant referees


Micheal Barwegen (Canada)
Karen Díaz (Mexico)
Fourth official


Matthew Conger (New Zealand)
Video assistant referee


Adonai Escobedo (Mexico)
Assistant video assistant referees


Fernando Guerrero Ramirez (Mexico)
Bruno Pires (Brazil)
Tomasz Kwiatkowski (Poland)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Men's Ranking . FIFA.com . Fédération Internationale de Football Association . 7 April 2021 . 14 December 2021.
  2. Web site: Men's Ranking . FIFA.com . Fédération Internationale de Football Association . 19 November 2021 . 6 December 2021.
  3. Web site: Soliman. Seif. 2021-12-01. Afsha penalty the difference as Egypt beat Lebanon in Arab Cup. 2021-12-15. KingFut. en-GB.
  4. Web site: Soliman. Seif. 2021-12-01. Afsha penalty the difference as Egypt beat Lebanon in Arab Cup. 2021-12-15. KingFut. en-GB.
  5. Web site: Soliman. Seif. 2021-12-01. Afsha penalty the difference as Egypt beat Lebanon in Arab Cup. 2021-12-15. KingFut. en-GB.
  6. Web site: Soliman. Seif. 2021-12-01. Afsha penalty the difference as Egypt beat Lebanon in Arab Cup. 2021-12-15. KingFut. en-GB.
  7. Web site: Soliman. Seif. 2021-12-01. Afsha penalty the difference as Egypt beat Lebanon in Arab Cup. 2021-12-15. KingFut. en-GB.
  8. Web site: Soliman. Seif. 2021-12-01. Afsha penalty the difference as Egypt beat Lebanon in Arab Cup. 2021-12-15. KingFut. en-GB.
  9. Web site: 2021-12-01. Egypt narrowly beat Lebanon with a goal in Arab Cup in Qatar. 2021-12-15. Asume Tech. en-US.
  10. Web site: 2021-12-04 . Algeria secure quarter final spot with win over Lebanon . 2021-12-15 . thepeninsulaqatar.com . en.
  11. Web site: 2021-12-07. بالصور: لبنان يهزم السودان في ختام مشوارهما بكأس العرب. 2021-12-15. كووورة.