Egypt won the gold medal in the Pan Arab Games' football tournament after securing an easy 2-1 victory over 10-man Saudi Arabia at Cairo Stadium on Sunday. Hossam Ghaly opened the scoring six minutes before the break and Emad Meteb doubled the advantage just before halftime. Saudi Arabia, who played the majority of the game with ten men after Red Tukar was handed a straight red card, pulled one back through Yasser Al-Qahtani's penalty. Egypt finished on top of the five-team league with 10 points, on level with second-placed Libya, who claimed the silver medal due to their inferior goal difference to the Pharaohs. Saudi Arabia came third on just four points, to claim the bronze medal. Meteb should have put Egypt in front after ten minutes when he picked up a loose ball inside the area but his close-range shot was blocked by Saudi Arabia keeper Yasser Al-Musalim. Nine minutes later, Al-Musalim dived to handle Hosni Abd-Rabou's curling shot from inside the area. Saudi Arabia never really threatened in the first-half and their hopes suffered a blow after Tukar received his marching orders in the 29th minute for elbowing Ghaly.
Meteb scored a spectacular goal Egypt capitalized on their numerical advantage and broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, thanks to a splendid shot by Ghaly. The Tottenham Hotspur out-of-favor midfielder found space 30 yards out and let fly with a right-footed shot that went into the right top corner of the net. Meteb doubled the lead in the first-half's additional time with a superb looping shot. The Ahli striker collected the ball on left edge of the area before sending a glorious shot into the far top corner of the net. The visitors were awarded a deserved penalty nine minutes after re-start when Osama Mohamed carelessly halted Ahmed Darwish's run with a tackle from behind. Al-Qahtani stepped-up to notch home past the diving Essam Al-Hadari and narrow the gap. However, despite having a lifeline, Saudi Arabia continued their sluggish form and couldn't break through Egypt's defense until the referee blew the final whistle. Tukar's dismissal helped Egypt, says Shehata
