Egypt limped to an uneventful 0-0 goalless draw with a lowly Dominican Republic side in the Group C Olympic opener at Stade de la Beaujoire.
In the 13th minute, Egypt were left thanking their lucky stars after Peter González caught Hossam Abdelmaguid napping to dispossess the defender on the edge of the area and slot in the opener but the referee brought the play back for a foul.
VAR did not intervene but replays clearly showed González got the ball and the goal should have stood. Just two minutes later and Egypt were once again fortunate not to go behind after Heinz Mörschel’s strike from 12 yards out was cleared off the line by Ahmed Eid.
The Dominicans seemed buoyed by their early goal threat but that boost soon turned to overconfidence as Luiyi de Lucas needlessly attempted to play out from the back and his misplaced pass found Ibrahim Adel on the edge of the box.
The Egyptian fired harmlessly high and certainly not handsome but it was a warning shot for the Caribbean outfit.
The Dominican Republic did not heed said warning and just three minutes before the break they allowed Mohamed Elneny too much time and space to arrow a low strike towards goal but once again luck was in Los Quisqueyanos’ favour as the former Arsenal man’s effort hit the base of the post.
A scrappy second half ensued with both sides limited to very few opportunities. González remained the Dominican Republic’s most likely goal threat and on 68 minutes, the forward hit a 25-yard freekick which forced Hamza Alaa into a save low down to his left to keep the scores level.
Egypt have made it out of their group in five of their last six attempts at the Olympics but ultimately failed to breach a Dominican Republic team who are the lowest ranked nation competing at the games in Paris and will have to do a whole lot better in their next fixture against Uzbekistan if they are to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.
For the Dominican Republic, the draw was no more than they deserved and the shock result has laid the groundwork for yet more surprises to come in Group C.
