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WCQ: Marmoush fires Egypt’s Pharaohs past Libya

Egypt edged out their North African rivals, Libya 1-0 in a 2022 Fifa World Cup qualification Group F match at the Borg El Arab Stadium on Friday night.

The win elevated the Pharaohs to the top of the group standings – leapfrogging the Mediterranean Knights, who slipped down to second place ahead of Monday’s clash between the two teams in Benghazi.

The Pharaohs were looking to bounce back to winning ways in Group F after drawing 1-1 with Gabon away last month, while the Mediterranean Knights edged out Angola 1-0 away.

Despite their attack being led by world-class striker Mohamed Salah, Egypt were frustrated by the Libyan defence and the hosts struggled to create clear cut chances with the visitors defending very well at the back in the opening exchanges.

The Mediterranean Knights looked dangerous whenever they pushed forward and Ahmed El Trbi forced goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy into a decent save with a header, before Mohamed Zaabia’s shot hit the post with the hosts’ defence exposed.

This served as a wake-up call for the Pharaohs, who piled on the pressure after the half-hour mark and they were awarded a free-kick in a promising area, but Salah’s attempt from the set-piece was well-saved by keeper Mohamed Nashnush.

The score was 0-0 at halftime.

The Pharaohs continued to put pressure on the visitors’ defence after the restart and they broke the deadlock when Mohamed Marmoush scored on his debut for Egypt as he turned, before unleashing a powerful shot which beat Nashnush to make it 1-0 to the hosts in the 49th minute.

Forward Hamdou Elhouni, who is on the books of Tunisian football powerhouse Esperance de Tunis, was among the substitutes that were introduced by Libya coach Javier Clemente as the visitors looked to level matters and preserve their unbeaten record in Group F.

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The momentum was with the Pharaohs in the closing proceedings and Nashnush had to pull off good saves to deny Marmoush and Mostafa Mohamed with Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz having introduced speedy attacker Ramadan Sobhi.

However, the hosts could not add to their solitary goal and ultimately the game ended in a 1-0 victory in favour of Egypt as they grabbed the North African Derby bragging rights.

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