Against all odds, Spain fell to second place in their group and now their path to medals in Paris will apparently be more complicated. Japan, with whom they already met in the semi-finals of Tokyo 2021, await in the quarter-finals. Santi Denia’s team lost to Egypt in a bad match, played in the heat with exasperating slowness, and missed the opportunity to complete an impeccable first phase. They had already shown signs of a certain defensive weakness in the two previous matches against lesser rivals such as Uzbekistan and the Dominican Republic, but against the Africans, who are a seasoned and committed group, the Spanish team did not just show their technical superiority.
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The 2011/12/2012 season saw the 2012/13/2013 season open for the first time in the competition, with the 2012/13/2013 season ending in the 2012/13/2013 season.
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Hamza Alaa, Omar Fayed (Mohamed Tarek, min. 69), Ahmed Eid (Ziad Kamal, min. 96), Karim El Debes (Mahmoud Saber, min. 45), Hossam Abdelmaguid, Ahmed Koka, Mohamed Elneny, Mohamed Shehata (Ahmed Atef, min. 80), Ibrahim Adel, Osama Faisal (Bilal Mazhar, min. 80) and Zizo
Goals 0-1 min. 39: Ibrahim Adel. 0-2 min. 61: Ibrahim Adel. 1-2 min. 89: Samu Omorodion
Arbitro Drew Fischer
Yellow cards Ahmed Eid (min. 5)
Egypt understands perfectly that football is a game of success and mistakes, and what it likes most is to take advantage of its rival’s mistakes, and as Spain was not too successful in the hot afternoon in Bordeaux, the Africans were in their element against a dull rival who made huge mistakes that penalized them on the scoreboard.
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Because the game might have given a sensation, but the football was going in another direction. The Egyptians played to let the Spaniards play, but they had their ideas very clear and attacked with salt any wounds of Santi Denia’s men, who ended up choking on his plan B. Spain pressed, but not much, with arrivals to the Egyptian area that dissolved before crossing the touchline.
A lot of passing, little versatility, and the rivals sat on the couch eating popcorn waiting for their chance. They failed the first time, when Iturbe stretched to send a Koka shot from outside the area to the corner, but not the second time, when a ball was thrown to the halfway line that Mosquera headed softly. Zizo won the fight, driving the ball to the edge of the area, and there he passed it to Adel, who added the first goal for Egypt with a shot just inside the top corner. First mistake, first goal.
A surprise? Not so much. The Egyptians played with the sense they know how to play and the Spaniards kept playing and playing without any real chance of equalising. They could have seen a sign in Egypt’s weakness when it came to defending set pieces, but they did not exploit that vein until, in yet another match, Denia had to reposition the team at half-time, and with Sergio Góméz on the pitch, gain a little more depth, at least in the first minutes, to make the Egyptian defence tremble with crosses from the side.
However, the compass was again disturbed with the second African goal, when Pacheco passed back looking at the stands, and Adel, the Egyptian nightmare, came around again to thank the gift and beat Iturbe on his way out. With the score at 0-2, Spain was completely confused, to the point that they could have conceded the third goal after a failed clearance by Diego López in the six-yard box. Adel’s shot was saved by Iturbe on the line.
When Camello’s header hit the post from a corner and Samu headed in a cross from the side, Spain had a chance to equalise and regain first place in the group, but in the ten minutes of added time, despite Egypt’s obvious weakness in the air defence, no one else dared to throw balls into the opposition’s area, as if it were a sin to do so, so time was up without further incident and Spain, although they will be in the qualifiers, will do so as second in the group.
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