Egypt's El Shenawy braces himself for Algeria 'final'

by Staff Reporter

Sunday Dec 05, 2021. 13:09

Egypt international Mohamed El-Shenawy has described their upcoming game against Algeria as an early final.

The Pharaohs are set to take on the Desert Foxes in their final 2021 FIFA Arab Cup Group D match at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar on Tuesday.

Both teams have already reached the quarter-finals and they will now battle for the top spot when they meet with Egypt having hammered Sudan 5-0 on Friday, while Algeria defeated Lebanon 2-0 on Saturday.

“I thank the fans who were in the stadium and supported us as they always do and I thank the players for the performance they showed and the strong spirit,” El-Shennawy said on King Fut.

“We came here to win the Arab Cup. We played with the same spirit and performance as we did in the first game against Lebanon, but we wasted a lot of chances; however, today we scored five goals.

“We are a team that plays in the name of Egypt, no matter which players participate, everyone will show their best. Today [against Sudan] there were many changes in the starting XI and we performed well.”

“Algeria is a strong team and we respect them as they respect us,” the Al Ahly captain, who is considered to be among the best goalkeepers in Africa, continued.

“We are eyeing the win against Algeria as it’s considered an early final due to the strength of the two teams, but in the end, it’s a three-point for which team to finish top of the group.”