Although there were four big play-off games in Europe for us all to watch along with numerous friendlies, possibly the biggest game of the day was held in Cairo between Egypt and Algeria.

A rivalry that goes back to 1989, the intensity leading up to the game today reached fever pitch only a few days ago when the Algerian team bus was attacked by fans with rocks. Several Algerian players were injured in the attack which added fuel to the already burning fire.

To understand the animosity between the two, we have to return to a fateful day in Algeria in the final African qualifier play-off for the Italia 90 World Cup. The first leg had finished 0-0 in Egypt which meant the most successful African team needed to win to capture that all important final World Cup place.

A first half goal from Hossam Hassan was enough to settle the tie in favour of Egpyt but the major talking points of the match were the brawls that occurred both on and off the pitch during and after the game. In the tunnel at the end of the match, one of the Egypt team doctors lost an eye during the fight. The Egypt national team were not allowed to leave the stadium for several hours after the match due to the high risk of more attacks. This particular day has been a black spot on both countries for two decades so todays game needed to readjust that.

Egypt required a win once again with a two goal margin to force the game to a playoff or three or more to win top spot outright. Amr Zaki got Egypt off to a good start with a second minute goal but they could not find a second till deep into stoppage time. A 95th minute goal from Emad Meteab sent the Egyptians into raptures and set the two teams up for a final climatic match to be held in Sudan on wednesday.

Will Algeria be able to muster up a performance given the wind that Egpyt have in their sails or will Egpyt continue their excellent run of form by nicking top spot from Algeria’s grasp? And lets all hope we do not have to witness the sights that were seen back in 1989.

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