Algeria Holds Off Egypt, Qualifies for 2010 World Cup

Wednesday's World Cup playoff between Algeria and Egypt immediately brought to mind the famous quote from legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankley, "Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that."

For the 34,000 inside Al Merreikh Stadium in Omdurman, Sudan, and millions in the countries themselves, the 90-minute match was a crucible of pressure. The tension was only heightened by rioting, stone throwing and a group of Algerians setting fire to the offices of Egypt Air in Algiers due to long-standing animosity between the two North African nations.

Though the match itself wasn't an all-time classic, the external factors made Algeria's eventual 1-0 victory one of the more memorable images of soccer in 2009, typified by keeper Faouzi Chaouchi celebrating atop his net after the full-time whistle.

The fact that Wednesday's match was played in the first place was improbable, to say the least. After Egypt won 2-0 against Algeria, with the second goal coming in the fifth minute of injury time on Saturday, the two teams were level on just about every possible tie-breaking scenario, thus the one-game playoff on "neutral" soil was needed.

As expected, tensions were high on-and-off the field. It took less than 10 minutes for the sides to set a mini-skirmish after numerous fouls and collisions. A total of seven yellow cards were issued, but surprisingly no players were sent off for either team.

The deciding goal came in the 39th minute thanks to newly minted Algerian national hero Anthar Yahia, who latched onto the end of a cross from Karim Ziani from the left side. Yahia, who plays for Bochum in the Bundesliga, powered a shot from a sheer angle on the right side of the penalty box, ramming it under the cross bar and past Egyptian keeper Essam El-Hadary.

Down a goal Eygpt pressed the rest of the match, but the Algerian defense held firm. Chaouchi cleaned up any of the other chances, making at least two fine saves in the second half, including a stop from close-range on Emad Metaeb.

Algeria now qualifies for its third World Cup and first since 1986. The Desert Foxes join African stalwarts Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire at the first World Cup held on African soil next June along with, of course, the hosts -- South Africa.

Egypt's World Cup drought now extends another four years. The Pharaohs last qualified for the 1990 tournament, ironically at the expense of Algeria, which helped increase the animosity between the two countries. Oddly enough, Egypt has won the biannual African Cup of Nations three times in that period, including the last edition in 2008.

There's a chance the two rivals won't have to wait too long to see each other, as the upcoming 2010 African Cup of Nations kicks off in Janaury in Angola, with the draw taking place in on Friday.

Right now, though, that doesn't matter much as they're sure to be jubilee in Algiers and misery in Cairo.