Algeria, Egypt shut out media before semi-final

BENGUELA – Algeria and Egypt retreated behind closed doors on the eve of their African Nations Cup semi-final in Benguela, seeking to avoid a revival of the hostility that marked their recent World Cup qualifying battle.

Both teams cancelled pre-match media activities and banned reporters from their final training sessions as they prepared for today’s match.’We want the players to concentrate solely on the work ahead of them,’ explained Algeria football federation president Mohamed Raouraoua.’We are physically and mentally ready and I hope we can go all the way to the final,’ added striker Hameur Bouazza in an interview with the Algerian news agency APS.Algeria and Egypt meet 70 days after a dramatic World Cup playoff match, which the Algerians won 1-0 to deny the African champions a place at this year’s tournament in South Africa.The game was played out in a highly charged atmosphere and post-match violence between opposing fans came close to creating a major diplomatic incident.Fighting between Algerian players and Egyptian officials more than 20 years ago, after Egypt had edged out their North African rivals for a place at the 1990 World Cup finals, is at the root of the continuing animosity between the two countries.Egyptian authorities unsuccessfully sought to prosecute Algeria’s top midfielder Lakhdar Belloumi, who allegedly damaged the eye of an Egyptian official with a broken bottle, in a case that simmered for years afterwards. – Nampa-Reuters