A dismal second-half performance resulted in an embarrassing 3-1 defeat for Egypt against an unremarkable Algeria side in the World Cup qualifiers. Following the disappointing draw with Zambia in the opener, the African masters suffered another blow, but this time the beating was sound. FilGoal.com gives an overall assessment of the performance of each Egypt player in the Blida hammering. Essam Al-Hadari (4): The plethora of goals he's been leaking in Switzerland all season had an obvious impact on the Egypt number one. The first time Al-Hadari has conceded three goals in one game under Hassan Shehata. Hani Saied (5): He failed to maintain his first-half solidity and was guilty in the second goal when Abdel-Kader Ghezzal outmuscled him to head in with ease. Ahmed Saied 'Ouka' (5.5): The inexperienced Harras Hodoud center-half had a grim competitive debut in Blida. Nonetheless, he made a superb off-the-line clearance when the game was level and was not to blame for the first two goals he witnessed. Wael Gomaa (5): The least to say about Gomaa is that he wasn't at his best. The 33-year-old center-half looked depleted after a long season marred by injuries. Sayed Moawad (5): Despite looking active in the first half, it was a mediocre overall performance from the Ahli full-back on the left flank, where he didn't find much room to cross into the area. Ahmed Fathi (5.5): As usual, Fathi's bravery is worth mentioning, but the Ahli midfielder struggled to deliver on the attack and was not helped by an out-of sorts backline as well.
Shehata has a lot to say to Al-Hadari Hosni Abd-Rabou (6): He made a number of key passes and his tackling was impressive to some extent as well. However, Abd-Rabou should have contributed more amid Algeria's ineffectual midfield. Mohamed Shawky (4.5): The Middlesbrough bench has surely haunted Shawky on Sunday. He was ineffective defensively and offensively, failed to assist Abd-Rabou and Abou-Treika in midfield and has hardly made a forward pass. Mohamed Abou-Treika (6.5): Not a great display to his standards, yet he was Egypt's best performer. Treika's work rate paid off with the consolation goal. Mohamed Zidan (5.5): He was increasingly getting into the game during the first half, but his input has significantly sloped downwards after the break. Zidan proved he cannot deliver when his mates are out of form. Amr Zaki (4): This one requires an article to describe! The lack of match fitness seemed to have taken its toll on the Bulldozer, who didn't manage a single shot on target and has uncommonly failed to use his physical presence. It was arguably a career-low performance from Zaki in the Egypt shirt. Even during the first half, he looked a shadow of his usual self. Ahmed Hassan (4.5): The skipper has hardly touched the ball after replacing Ouka prior to Djebbour's third goal. Ahmed Eid (6): Even though he played no more than ten minutes, his deft pass sent Abou-Treika through for the only goal; a relatively major contribution from the Hodoud ace.
