Full time: Egypt 2-1 Congo 90+5 THE REFEREE BLOWS THE FINAL WHISTLE!!! EGYPT REACH THE WORLD CUP!!!! 90+4 Salah sends the keeper the wrong way to give Egypt the lead!!! 90+4 GOOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!! SALAH SCORES!!! 90+3 Egypt win a penalty!!! 90+3 90' Dylan Saint-Louis replaced by Cesaire Gandze 90+1 Congo makes their last substitution... 88' Substitute Arnold scores the equalizer for Congo after striking past El-Hadary from inside the area! 87' GOAL! Congo score the equalizer! 86' Ramadan Sobhi makes way for Elmohamady for Cuper's last change of the game. 84' Dylan Bahamboula is substituted by Merveil Valthy Ndockyt for Congo's second change. 81' Congo defender Etou handed a yellow card. 80' So close!! Salah goes one-on-one with the keeper, who denies the Liverpool man before Elneny hits high over on the rebound!! 77' Amr Gamal comes in for Ahmed Hassan Kouka, who has not been entirely convincing. 71' Bouka Arnold replaces Delarge for Congo 70' Egypt pressing Congo in those minutes.. 68' Salah wins a free kick from in front of the area... 62' Salah goes through on goal inside the area following a a blunder from a Congo center-back to slot past the keeper!!! 62' GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!! SALAH!!! 59' A free-kick from Elneny goes wide... 55' Saleh Gomaa makes way for Trezeguet, who now plays down the right. 52' A very good move by Saleh Gomaa into the area ends up with him striking so weak into the keeper's hands! 50' What a chance! Congo's Saint-Louis strikes from inside the area but was valiantly denied by El-Hadary! 49' A dangerous attack by Egypt featuring Salah and Kouka, who was offside! 47' Egypt are on the attack now.. The second half begins... 45+1 Salah plays the free kick but the keeper easily gathers the ball, seconds before the ref blows the half-time whistle. 45' Sala wins a free kick from a great position in front of the area! 42' A fine teammove by Egypt ends up with Ramadan attempting to square near the byline before the ball goes out for corner! 39' Egypt are still unable to penetrate.. 31' A dangerous strike from Delarge hits Hegazi, as it goes out for corner! 30' Congo left-back Tobias Badila handed a yellow card following a foul on Salah! 30' Egypt continue bossing possession but yet to find a breakthrough! 24' How close!!! A succession of chances sees a strike for Hegazy towards goal denied by the keeper in what was a clear-cut Egypt chance!! 22' A great through ball from Gomaa towards Abdel-Shafi ends up with a corner for Egypt! 18' A short spell of pressure from the visitors ends up with a foul for Egypt inside our own third. 11' Congo's Oniangue strikes from outside the area, with his effort going wide of the post!! 9' A strike from Salah from inside the area goes straight into the keepe's hands. 8' The attempt ends up with Hamed striking high over the bar! 6' A free kick for Egypt from the right following a foul on Mohamed Salah 5' Egypt are normally in control early on 1' Egypt pushes up from the opening minute.. The match gets underway! 18:55 The national anthems are being played now 18:40 In midfield, Tarek Hamed continues to partner Mohamed Elneny at the center of the park. 18:20 Now both teams are warming up, with the home fans cheering their side. 18:15 The Egypt keepers are currently warming up now. 18:00 Veteran keeper Essam El-Hadary starts between the sticks, with both Ahmed El-Shennawi and Sherif Ekramy on the dugout. 17:50 Rami Rabia returns to partner Ahmed Hegazy in the heart of the defense, with Zamalek center-back Ali Gabr on the bench. 17:35 The Borg El-Arab Stadium is packed with the home fans now, less than 90 minutes till kick off. 17:25 Ahly playmaker Saleh Gomaa makes his first competitive start under Cuper in the absence of Abdallah El-Said, with Stoke City winger Ramadan Sobhi starting at the expense of the regular Mahmoud Trezeguet. 17:15 Egypt manager Hector Cuper had excluded Abdallah El-Said, Mostafa Fathi and left-back Karim Hafez from his 18-man squad. Starting lineups: Egypt: Essam El-Hadary, Ahmed Fathi, Rami Rabia, Ahmed Hegazy, Mohamed Abdel-Shafi, Tarek Hamed, Mohamed Elneny, Saleh Gomaa, Mohamed Salah, Ramadan Sobhi, Ahmed Hassan Kouka Congo: Barel Morial Mouko, Tobias Badila, Dzon Delarge, Thievy Bifouma, Beranger Itoua, Delvin N'Ding, Ramaric Etou, Prince Oniangue, Dylan Saint-Louis, Dylan Bahamboula, Fernand Mayembo 16:35 Reports are suggesting that left-back Karim Hafez has been ruled out of the game due to injury. It leaves coach Hector Cuper with only Mohamed Abdel-Shafi as a natural left-back. 16:15 Fans are expected to hit the streets and large squares in most of the country's governorates, with large screens set up in public areas to broadcast the match. The match will be aired on the free Egyptian satellite channel ONTV, which bought the right to broadcast, with dozens of advertisers and sponsors scuffling for the match's ad slots. 15:30 Thousands of fans hit the road from all around the country to gather at Borg El-Arab Stadium in Alexandria to watch their national team make history if they defeat Congo in the match, which starts at 19:00 Cairo time (GMT +2). The 86,000-seat arena in the coastal city is expected to see an overflow of spectators, with security forces prepped for the big event, which may be attended by the country's president. 15:00 The traffic department in Alexandria, where the match is to be held, is on high alert, securing the Cairo-Alexandria Road ahead of the arrival of fans, according to Al-Ahram newspaper. The match be held at Alexandria's Borg Al-Arab stadium at 7 pm. The extra security efforts follow an order by Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar to finalize all security preparations related to the game. 14:30 Egypt will have to do without key playmaker Abdallah El-Said, who often combines well with Liverpool's in-form forward Mohamed Salah to unlock opposing backlines, due to injury. He is likely to be replaced by Ahly's Saleh Gomaa. Defensive midfielder Hossam Ashour and winger Mostafa Fathi, who usually play bit-part roles, were also ruled out of the game because of injuries. There was also an injury scare for Saudi Arabia-based winger Mahmoud Kahraba but he has been declared fit to play. 13:30 The Pharaohs lost in two playoffs in the qualifying campaigns of the previous two editions but Russia 2018 comes calling this year after Ghana played out a 0-0 draw at Uganda in a controversial match on Saturday where several decisive refereeing decisions went against the Black Stars. 13:00 Borg El Arab stadium's doors are expected to be open from 11 am and will close at 6 pm, or when the capacity of 65,000 spectators has been reached. According to a security source, no spectator will be allowed entry without a proper ticket. 12:30 Egypt is on high security alert ahead of a crucial football match against Congo on Sunday that will decide whether Egypt qualifies for the World Cup tournament in Russia next year, with Egypt seeking its first spot in the competition for three decades. 12:00 Egypt lead Group E with nine points and should they overcome Congo, they will gain an unassailable four-point lead over nearest challengers Uganda before facing Ghana away from home in the final round next month. Venue: Borg El Arab, Alexandria Referee: Bakary Gassama (Gambia) Teams' position: Egypt: (1st with 9 points after four games) Congo: (4th with only one pointsafter four games) Check the match full preview here (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
