Egypt and Algeria impress while Ghana crumble in friendly internationals

Egypt and Algeria impress while Ghana crumble in friendly internationals

North African giants Egypt continued their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with an impressive victory over Saudi Arabia in an international friendly at Enmaa Stadium in Jeddah on Friday.

Goals from Isam Issa, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet, Zito and Omar Marmoush ensured the Pharaohs secured a morale-boosting win as they fine-tune their squad ahead of global qualifiers.

Elsewhere, Ghana endured a difficult outing after suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat to Austria in Vienna. The Europeans took an early lead through Marcel Sabitzer, who converted from the penalty spot in the first half.

Ghana struggled to recover after going into the break trailing, and Austria tightened their grip on the match in the second half. Goals from Michael Gregoritsch, Stefan Posch, Carney Chukwuemeka and Nicolas Seiwald completed a dominant performance.

Meanwhile, Algeria delivered one of the standout results of the day, thrashing Guatemala 7-0 in Turin, Italy. Amine Gouiri netted a brace, while Riyad Mahrez, Houssem Aouar and several others added to the rout in a clinical display.

In other international results, Rwanda beat Grenada 4-0, Australia edged Cameroon 1-0, while Morocco and Ecuador played to a 1-1 draw. Togo and Guinea also shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw. 

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