The Egyptian national team began its campaign in the 2027 African Cup of Nations qualifiers with a disappointing goalless draw with its guest Angola in the first round of the qualifiers on Friday.
Each team earned one point to share second place behind Malawi, the leader of Group Two, after its 2-1 victory over its host, South Sudan.
The Egyptian national team will meet in the second round with South Sudan next Tuesday in Juba.
The home team had an opportunity in the 20th minute following a corner kick taken by captain Mohamed Salah, who ended it with a shot from inside the penalty area, but goalkeeper Hugo Marquez blocked it.
Mustafa Abdel Raouf “Zico” scored a goal for Egypt in the 22nd minute, but the referee ruled it out for offside.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan made a change before the end of the first half by bringing in Omar Marmoush instead of Mahmoud Saber to increase offensive capabilities.
The two teams exchanged attacks at the beginning of the second half, and the danger was for the visitors.
In the 62nd minute, Imam Ashour fired a shot that went over the crossbar.
Then the duo Hamza Abdel Karim and Ahmed Sayed “Zizou” participated instead of Salah and Haitham Hassan.
Egypt increased the offensive pressure in the final minutes in an attempt to score the winning goal against a defensive organization from Angola.
Marmoush almost scored the lead goal for Egypt in the last minute, but the goalkeeper excelled and blocked his attempt.
Some English Premier League clubs have begun hiring lawyers to discuss opportunities to obtain compensation as a result of Manchester City's conviction for financial fair play violations.
Earlier Friday, The Athletic newspaper indicated that Manchester City had been convicted of committing 114 of the 115 financial violations charged against it, which increases the pressure on the English club, with a number of English Premier League clubs examining the possibility of taking legal measures against it to obtain compensation.
The newspaper also reported that several clubs have already hired lawyers to discuss opportunities to obtain compensation, and the pace of these discussions is currently increasing, after some clubs believe that they may have suffered sporting and financial damages if Manchester City’s violations caused them to be deprived of qualification for the Champions League or lose sponsorship revenues.
This case may be reminiscent of what happened in the incident between Everton and Burnley, after an independent committee issued a decision last June obliging Everton to pay 35.1 million pounds sterling (40.8 million euros) to Burnley, after concluding that Everton’s violation of the rules of profitability and sustainability gave it a sporting advantage.
However, any potential legal action against Manchester City will have to be postponed until the end of the appeal proceedings relating to the current case.
According to “The Athletic”, the possibility of filing a class action suit involving a number of English Premier League clubs against Manchester City is being considered, if the damages suffered as a result of the violations in question are confirmed.
The French national team achieved its first victory under the leadership of its new coach, Zinedine Zidane, at the expense of its Turkish host, 1-0, in the first group matches in the first level of the European Nations League.
Zidane, who took over the job from Didier Deschamps, who won the 2018 World Cup in Russia and qualified for the final of the 2022 edition in Qatar, led the team in his first official appearance after his appointment to the position.
Zidane will have another appearance in front of his country's fans, when the French national team hosts its Italian counterpart next Friday, but he will travel again for his team to host Belgium next Monday, within the same round's competitions.
Kylian Mbappe scored the only goal for the French team in the 54th minute.
The match witnessed Ugurkan Cakir, the Turkish national team goalkeeper, being sent off in the 87th minute, and his team completed the match with ten players.
In turn, the Italian national team suffered its first defeat under the leadership of its new coach, Roberto Mancini, against its Belgian guest, with a score of 0-2, in the first round of the first group.
Roberto Mancini, who won the Euro 2020 title with the Italian national team, returned to take over the position of coach of the team again three years after leaving his position for the Saudi national team, amid attempts to revive Italian football after the team failed to advance to the World Cup finals in three successive editions in 2018, 2022 and 2026.
The Belgian national team took the lead in the 20th minute through Mika Godets, then his teammate Dodi Lukebakio added the second goal in the 69th minute.
