FIFA Arab Cup: Egypt salvage point with another late goal

Marwan Hamdi’s late header kept Egypt’s destiny in their hands at the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup following a 1-1 draw against United Arab Emirates in Saturday’s Group C clash.

Once again, poor finishing left the result in suspense but another timely equalizer leaves the Pharaohs in a decent position to secure second place and qualify for the knockout stage. Pyramids FC forward Hamdi’s goal cancelled out the opener from the UAE’s naturalized Brazilian forward Caio Lucas.

The final match of the day at the tournament hosted by Qatar was another frustrating encounter for Egyptian supporters, whose team continued to look weak in the attack until the timely leveler. The star of the first half for the Pharaohs was goalkeeper Mohamed Bassam, who produced a brilliant kick save to deny Bruno, another naturalized Brazilian forward.

After the two teams neutralized each other in the first 45 minutes, Caio Lucas provided the final touch in the 61st minute to put the UAE ahead when the Al Sharjah player got on the end of a cross.

A defeat would have been devastating for the Egyptian team but the record 7-time African champions rallied back to save a point. In the 85th minute, substitute right back Karim El Eraki floated an excellent cross to the far post and Hamdi did brilliantly to turn his head at the perfect angle and place his header into the corner.

The Pharaohs appeared to win it late but VAR intervened to rule out a goal in stoppage time due to offsides. Plenty of work remains for Egypt, who are second in Group C with two points with a slight edge on the UAE and Kuwait (1 point each). Tuesday will see the North Africans face group winners Jordan, where they may need a victory to advance.