Bitter disappointment in Cairo as Egypt lose World Cup shot

Portugese coach Carlos Queiroz tweeted after the game that the "dream is over", after once again finding his team in a shootout with the hopes of Egypt's 103-million strong population hanging in the balance.

Tuesday’s match in Senegal was an eagerly awaited second chance for the Pharoahs to gain revenge after the Africa Cup of Nations final last month, which the Lions of Teranga won 4-2 on penalties in Cameroon after 120 goalless minutes.

But instead it was disappointment again.

"We didn’t expect this," Emad Ramadan sullenly told AFP from a coffee shop in eastern Cairo where some 300 supporters gathered around televisions in a small garden, an urban phenomenon that has grown exceedingly rare over the past few years.

The sounds of the crowd were deafening – mothers teaching their children household cheers, fans playing red-white-and-black kazoos, and many a backseat-coach yelling instructions at the TV. 

Three hundred voices cheered as star goalkeeper Mohammed El-Shennawy blocked goal after goal.

A couple of botched penalties, including a wayward spot kick from Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah, and one decisive kick by Senegalese forward Sadio Mane later, the hundreds of voices went completely silent.

"We've always said that one team gets to be the African champion, the other gets to go to the World Cup," Ramadan said. "Now they’ve done both."

Egypt is a seven-time African champion – a record on the continent – but has only qualified for the World Cup three times, the latest in 2018.

The first leg of the playoff in front of a 75,000-strong stadium in Cairo last Friday, proved a lacklustre victory. 

Liverpool forward Salah was the architect of the only goal when he turned inside the box, slammed the ball against the crossbar, with the rebound hitting Saliou Ciss and rolling into the net.

Senegalese forward Boulaye Dia scored in the fourth minute Tuesday, making the aggregate score 1-1 for 116 nailbiting minutes.

For the third time in two months, the titans of Liverpool found themselves on opposite sides. Once again Salah's club teammate Mane came out top.

- No relief for Egyptians -

EgyptAir chartered 300 supporters to the Senegalese capital Dakar on Tuesday.

Back home in Cairo, those not able to make the trip were cheering and groaning in unison. 

What was once an urban tradition of large crowds gathering to watch football matches together has been reduced to small pockets across the capital Cairo in recent years.

In many areas of the city - particularly central Cairo - traffic and police officers regularly shut down gatherings, citing Covid-19 restrictions and social distancing requirements in a country where restrictions have been lax and unevenly enforced, but large public gatherings of any kind are discouraged by authorities.

A victory would have been a rare chance for Cairo’s streets to fill with the familiar sounds of cars honking and an air of celebration to cushion what has been a difficult month for Egyptians across the country.

Egyptians are gearing up for the month of Ramadan, which starts in April, with tightened purse strings.

Inflation is at a three-year high of 10 percent, a 17 percent currency devaluation bodes more price hikes, and the war in Ukraine threatens the country’s wheat – and therefore bread – in a country where a third of the population is under the poverty line.

"Football can make people so happy,” Abdelaziz Mohamed told AFP. “It could have brought us out of this terrible mood we’ve been in for a while."