Tens of Egyptian millions Thursday night huddled in the coziness of their houses to watch the Egypt-Algeria match in the African Cup of Nations semi-final. The match between the two regional rivals startes at 9:30pm (Cairo local time). The Pharaohs and Algerians have met three times in three months. They met in a World Cup qualifier on November 14 in Cairo, with Egypt beating Algeria 2-0. Four days later, Algeria booked a berth in the World Cup by beating the Pharaohs 1-0 in Sudan. Again on Thursday, both teams met each other, as officials from both countries urged their people to reject violence and avoid causing any unnecessary tension. Ahead of Thursday's game, Algerian Football Association's Chairman Mohamed Raouraoua dismissed claims of hostility towards Egypt, FilGoal reported on Thursday. Raouraoua played down the off-field problems of last year's meetings, as he looked forward to a calm approach this time around. "We came to this match in a serene state of mind," he said. "We prepared for it calmly like all other matches. There's no room for animosity in an important competition. In our past three matches against Egypt, there haven't been problems on the pitch or in the stadiums.” President of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) Samir Zaher, meanwhile, said that it was not a revenge match, although of course the desire to win this continental competition for an unprecedented third successive time made the Pharaohs even more determined. Algeria's defender Nadir Belhadj stressed his admiration of the Egyptian team, ahead of last night's encounter. "Egypt are a very good team. We [Algeria] have also moved into overdrive after a false start in the competition. It's a big game," the Portsmouth's fullback told Cafonline a few hours ahead of the game. Egyptians in the street were in optimistic mood. "We would like to win as we're the best. We qualified for the quarters after getting all nine points from three matches,” Ahmed Ragab, 29, told The Gazette. "We've now beaten Cameroon three times within two years.” Mona Mohamed, 23, regrets what happened last November and hoped the game would be calm. "Whoever wins, the other side can win something else next time. I hope it will be a calm and stylish game, as, after all, we and the Algerians are brothers."
