Algeria beats Egypt in World Cup qualifying playoff

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Algeria qualified for the 2010 World Cup with a 1-0 win over Egypt on Wednesday.

A stunning first-half strike by defender Antar Yahya gave Algeria victory in the playoff match.

Yahya's 39th-minute winner came against the run of play when he took advantage of a lapse in concentration by Egypt's defenders to hit a perfect volley in off the underside of the crossbar with his right foot from an acute angle.

The match was played in Khartoum, Sudan, after the two teams finished their group matches level on points and having scored and conceded the same number of goals.

The win means Algeria will make its first appearance at a World Cup since 1986 and once again highlighted Egypt's inability to carry its impressive form in Africa — it has won the African Cup a record six times — into World Cup qualification tournaments.

Egypt last appeared at a World Cup in 1990.

Failing once again to reach the game's biggest stage is likely to be hard to take for the football-mad nation.

Egypt dominated possession without creating many goalscoring opportunities, while Algeria always looked dangerous on the break.

Algeria become the fifth African nation to reach the finals through qualifying, alongside Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

South Africa qualified as the host nation.