Pharaohs lose to Lions

by Khalil Hareb in Amman
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-03-06

[Jamie McDonald/Getty Images] Mohamed Zidan put the Pharaohs ahead by a goal, but it wasn't enough as England won 3-1.

In global football friendlies, the Pharaohs lost to England 3-1 on Wednesday (March 3rd) in London's Wembley Stadium. Egypt scored first thanks to Mohamed Zidan, who put the ball away only 23 minutes into the match. The Lions waited until the second half to score when Peter Crouch netted England's first goal. In the minutes leading up to the final whistle, Shawn Wright Phillips scored England's second goal. Crouch waited until 10 minutes before the match's end to net yet another.

Jordan's national side, the Brave Men, put on a spectacular show for over 20,000 fans in Amman by beating Singapore 2-1 on Wednesday. Both squads needed to win the showdown in King Abdullah the Second Stadium in order to qualify for the Asia Cup 2011 in Qatar. The Brave Men started the match strong, surprising the Lions with an early goal by superstar Odai Saify only nine minutes in.

The first half was pure Jordanian power as they controlled most of the play, but they failed to seize great opportunities. Singapore came into the second half looking to change the match's momentum, and scored after only three minutes. The Brave Men had no choice but to attack, and their defender Anas Bani Yaseen put Jordan in the lead with a header that brought the home crowd and the whole country to its feet.

Iran made Jordan's task easier by beating Thailand 1-0 in the last few minutes of their match. Thailand ended up third in their group with 6 points. Singapore was in fourth, also with 6 points. Jordan was in last place in Group E, but the victory over Singapore and Thailand's defeat nudged them into second place with 8 points and a slot in the finals in Qatar. This is the second time in history that Jordan has qualified for the Asia Cup. The first time was in 2004.

Kuwait also won a trip to Qatar by managing a 0-0 draw against host Oman on Wednesday. A single point was enough for the Blues to secure second place in Group B with 9 points, trailing first-place Australia, who beat Indonesia 1-0. Oman is in third place with 8 points. And in Group D, Syria trashed Lebanon 4-0 in Damascus on Wednesday. Syria and China have both already qualified, but the fight was to lead the group. Now Syria is in command with 14 points, followed by China with 13 points, leaving Lebanon in last place with a single point.

Meanwhile, Slovenia rang rings around Qatar in a friendly on Wednesday, crushing their guests 4-1.

In other sports, in the final clashes of the Arabian Volleyball Clubs Champions 2010, Egypt's Ahly managed a big victory over Saudi Hilal and was crowned the champion on Thursday (March 4th). Ahly was playing at home, where the championship was held. With their fans' support, they beat their guests 3-1. Bahrain's Najma stole an important win over Lybian outfit Ahli Tripoli to secure third place.

Jahra had a bit of luck in the Kuwaiti Basketball League 2009-2010 on Wednesday when they whipped strong side Qadsia at Qadsia Hall 75-68. Sahel also lost at home, coming up empty-handed against Kazma in a 85-72 loss. In a huge win, Nasar trashed Shabab 113-56. In a game where better defenders managed to make an appearance, Salmiyah secured a 66-47 home win over Yarmouk.

Bookmarking

Please comment on this article so that we can improve the experience of viewing this website.