Qatar's national team defeated Egypt two to one in a friendly match Thursday in Doha. The two Qatari goals were scored by Sebastian Suria and an own goal by Egyptian Wa'el Gomaa, in the 20th and 43rd minutes respectively. The Egyptian goal was scored by Waleed Suleiman in the 72nd minute. Referees ejected Egyptian midfielder Ahmed Fathy and Qatari midfielder Fabio Cesar in the 82nd minute. The two teams competed in Doha as the Qatari team prepares to compete in the Asia Cup of Nations, which Qatar will host in January, while Egypt is gearing up for an African Nations qualifier against South Africa in March. The match began a fast pace, with Abu Trika taking the first shot on goal in the 3rd minute, blocked handily by Qatari goalkeeper Qasem Birham. The Qatari team responded with a forceful attack from the left which overshot the Egyptian goal. Despite the high number of Egyptian offensive plays, effective attacks on the Qatari goal were few. In the 20th minute, Ibrahim Maged cut through Egyptian defenders, sent a clean cross to Qatari forward Sebastian Soria. Soria shot successfully, scoring the first goal of the match. Sebastian Soria nearly scored a second goal for his team in the 27th minute after a defensive slip-up by Ahmed Dewidar. Samir Farag made an elegant cross pass to Ahmed Fathy, who shot with his left but missed the goal. In the 43rd minute the Qatari team scored their second goal following a defensive error by Wael Gomaa and Abdel Wahed al-Sayyed. Like the first half, the second half of the match began with an Egyptian attack, and a forceful but unsuccessful shot by Aboutrika in the 54th minute. The Egyptian team struggled to put forward strong offensives with no clear attacker in the penalty area. Qatar nearly staged a repeat of the first half with a counter-attack by Soria and Mohamed al-Sayed, but Egyptian goalkeeper Abdel Wahed al-Sayyed saved the goal. Egyptian striker Ahmed Hassan Mekky fell in the penalty box in the 66th minute, but officials did not award Egypt a penalty kick. In the 72nd minute, the Egyptian team successfully reduced the score differential with their first goal of the game. Ahmed Eid Abdel Malak made a smooth pass to Waleed Sulieman, who took a shot from in the thick of Qatari defenders which sailed past the Qatari goalkeeper's left side. After the Egyptian goal, the Qatari team started to play violently, but the Omani referee did not call any fouls. Qatari player Fabio Cesar and Egyptian Ahmed Fathy engaged in a heated exchange which prompted referees to expel both players from the match. Egypt attempted to equalize with no success, missing a final opportunity in the 93rd minute. Amr al-Sulaya took the last shot which the Qatari goalkeeper blocked easily, finalizing the 2-1 victory for Qatar. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
