The Fifa break ended on Tuesday with diverse fortunes for mostly the African World Cup-bound teams. The North African teams Morocco and Tunisia had more than a fair run in the friendlies while Egypt performed badly, as Senegal failed to claim a victory.
Morocco 2-0 Uzbekistan
After defeating Serbia 2-1 on Friday, Morocco added another win to their list by edging Uzbekistan 2-0 at the Mohamed V stadium in Casablanca on Tuesday, even with a depleted squad.
African Nations Championship (CHAN) sensation Ayoub El Kaabi opened the scoring 4 minutes from kickoff, while Manuel Da Costa headed home a corner kick from Fajr by the 43rd minute to seal the 2-0 win for Herve Renard’s side.
Tunisia 1-0 Costa Rica
Tunisia defeated two other World Cup teams Iran and Costa Rica during the Fifa break. On Tuesday, the Carthage Eagles hosted Costa Rica in Nice, where Wahbi Khazri scored the only goal of the meeting by the 36th minute from a beautiful assist delivered by Badri.
Fakhreddine Ben Youssef could have made it 2-0 for Tunisia before the break but his effort crashed against the post, while goalkeeper Mouez Hassen, who was making his bow for the North Africans, made a save towards the end of the game to prevent a 1-1 draw.
Senegal 0-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Four days after a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan, Senegal recorded another modest outcome, this time a goalless draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Goalkeeper Abdoulaye Diallo singlehandedly prevented his side from conceding, which could have worsened the situation of coach Aliou Cisse, who is under fire back home due to the current fortunes of the Teranga Lions.
Egypt 0-1 Greece
Egypt lost their first friendly to Portugal 2-1 and suffered another defeated at the hands of Greece 1-0 in Zurich, Switzerland on Tuesday. After a promising start, Hector Cuper’s men were soon crippled by the pace and strength of the opposing side who claimed the victory through Nikos Karelis. The Pharaohs’ hitman Mohamed Salah was rested.
