Misr 0 - 0 Bulgaria (376979849)

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Ultimate Stadium saw a crowd turnout of 125930. Tommy Gleave was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Andrew Batt and Dumas Salas. Misr tactics involved an interesting 2-5-3 combination. Lineup: Shaybani - Najjar, Ahmed - Haj-Akil, Chana, Askari, Abu-Alam, Ahmed - Darwish, Najjar, Haj-Ibrahim.

A 4-5-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Bulgaria. They fielded: Yordanov - Bochev, Mihaylov, Vasilev, Mindizov - Argirov, Dimitrov, Muftiev, Mateev, Ilkov - Lozanov.

The strategy for Bulgaria was to use their ability to press. The pressing tactics used by Bulgaria were successful as the ball remained close to the half way line at all times. A scuffle developed as players from both sides clashed following a tussle in the centre of the field 11 minutes into the match. After regaining order and consulting his linesman, the referee called Misr's J. Ahmed to one side and produced a red card for the player. I. Dimitrov's knee will be throbbing for days, but thankfully for Bulgaria, he bravely continued in the match. Misr's Q. Ahmed tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but couldn't get past the visitors' defenders. Bulgaria had a great opportunity to score following a counterattack after 32 minutes, but A. Ilkov's shot from the left sailed high over the bar. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 0. Misr claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 57 percent.

K. Darwish would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise. A. Yaseen entered the game for Misr as the match clock showed 46 minutes. Making his way up the middle 59 minutes into the match, Q. Najjar almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert V. Yordanov blocked it to keep the score level. As the 60 minute mark approached, the Misr coach decided it was time for a substitution. Q. Najjar reluctantly made way for H. Abdel on the pitch. Misr's N. Abu-Alam was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 65 minutes. At this time in the match, Bulgaria were using their skill at pressing to successfully stifle the game. After 72 minutes, Bulgaria began to show their lack of experience and they threatened to wilt under the heavy pressure from their opposition. Misr could have put themselves ahead after 77 minutes but A. Chana missed a volley shot on a ball coming in from the right. Misr had a chance to take the lead after H. Abdel's dazzling drive up the left, but the opportunity fizzled out as his shot went just over the bar after 84 minutes. Possession in this half belonged to Misr, who controlled the ball 58 percent of the time.

The most dominating Misr player was without a doubt A. Yaseen. N. Abu-Alam on the other hand, had a terrible day. Bulgaria's top performer was clearly V. Yordanov. A. Ilkov turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 0 - 0.