Morocco Rally to Draw in Ouahbi’s Debut as Algeria and Egypt Rack Up Big Wins; Ghana Suffer Heavy Defeat
Morocco grabbed a late equaliser to draw 1-1 with Ecuador on Friday in their first match under coach Mohamed Ouahbi as Africa’s World Cup-bound teams delivered mixed results in warm-up matches.
Ouahbi took over from Walid Regragui this month and saw his side trail to John Yeboah’s 48th-minute goal in Madrid in their first game since the controversial Africa Cup of Nations final in January.
Neil El Aynaoui headed home an 88th-minute equaliser in a dour tussle in which Ouahbi did not tinker much with Regragui’s last line-up.
Fellow North Africans Algeria and Egypt posted convincing wins while alarm bells are ringing in Ghana after they were crushed in Austria.
Algeria had striker Amine Gouiri back after injury ruled him out of the Cup of Nations in Morocco and he wasted no time reminding of his ability as they hammered Guatemala 7-0 in Genoa, Italy, scoring twice and winning a penalty that Riyad Mahrez converted.
Defender Achraf Abada’s goal before halftime was the best of the bunch as he fired a long-range thunderbolt into the net.
Egypt handed Saudi Arabia a resounding 4-0 home defeat in Jeddah even without Mohamed Salah but their other Premier League-based striker Omar Marmoush was among the scorers.
There are concerns, however, for Ghana, who were thrashed 5-1 by Austria in Vienna. The rout began in the 12th minute when Ghana gave away a penalty, and they were 3-0 down before captain Jordan Ayew pulled a goal back with 13 minutes left, only for Austria to score twice more.
It does not get any easier for Ghana, who face Germany in Stuttgart on Monday.
South Africa had to come from behind to draw 1-1 with Panama in Durban, but coach Hugo Broos proclaimed himself pleased with the way his team played.
Yoel Barcenas had Panama ahead at halftime, but Oswin Appollis equalised early in the second half. The two countries, both headed to the World Cup, meet again in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Earlier on Friday, Cape Verde were beaten 4-2 by Chile in their FIFA Series clash in New Zealand, after being 2-1 up at halftime.
Cameroon and Nigeria are two notable absentees from the African line-up at the World Cup but still in demand as scrimmage partners for finals-bound teams.
Australia beat Cameroon with a late sucker punch from Jordan Bos to win 1-0 in Sydney, but Nigeria were 2-1 winners over Iran in Antalya, Turkey, with Moses Simon and Akor Adams scoring for the Super Eagles.
