Egypt’s second national team played to a 1-1 draw against Kuwait in the opening round of Group C at the 2025 Arab Cup in Qatar, in a match full of thrilling and tense moments between players.

Kuwait opened the scoring through Fahad Al-Hajri in the 64th minute, before Mohamed Magdy “Afsha” equalized for Egypt from a late penalty, leaving both teams with one point.

Key highlights included:

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  Missed Opportunities: Egypt dominated large parts of the match, especially in the first half, but squandered several easy chances that could have secured an early win.

  
  


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  Controversial Penalties: Amr El-Solya missed a first-half penalty, while Afsha successfully converted the second after Marwan Hamdy was fouled, resulting in the Kuwait goalkeeper being sent off.

  
  


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  Player Conflicts: Mohamed Sherif protested his substitution by Helmy Tolaan, and post-match altercations between players required intervention to prevent escalation.

  
  


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  Performance Analysis: Coach Helmy Tolaan stressed that Egypt was the better side across both halves but missed several scoring opportunities. Shikabala criticized the lack of performance analysis before the match, saying the team made things harder for itself.

  
  

Tolaan said: "The match was fully in our favor during both halves… the first half could have ended 4-5 goals, and the second half was similar. This is football; when you miss chances, you get punished, but thankfully we recovered and scored from a penalty after missing the first. The players gave their best, and the next match will be better, God willing."

Egypt now prepares to face the UAE in the second round, aiming for their first win in the tournament after the opening draw, with fans eagerly following the team’s performance.