Ahmed Eltigani
The grandest of finals, the fiercest of clashes: a battle between two of the Arab world’s strongest contenders this tournament and only one can come out on top. Tunisia faced off against Algeria in this action-packed FIFA Arab Cup 2021 Final, which saw an intense back-and-forth between the two sides.
The fixture may have been goalless for the entirety of normal time, but there was no shortage of intensity and pure footballing mastery, both sides brought their A-game tonight at the Al Bayt Stadium, and the fans in the bleachers were electric about it. The full-time whistle blew with both sides at a goalless standstill, and so the game moved on to extra time.
In the 99th minute of extra time, the inevitable happened: Algeria’s very own Amir Sayoud drove towards Tunisia’s box after a splendid run, striking the ball from outside, and curling it around the keeper to find the top left corner of the goal.
The celebrations shook the stadium’s foundations as Algeria found itself 1-0 up against its African counterpart in the opening minutes of extra time, making the image of its players lifting the prestigious trophy much clearer than it may have already been. That image became an assured reality in the 125th minute, when Yacine Brahimi took advantage of Tunisia’s goalkeeper absence in their team's half, running the ball straight into the goal to bring his team up 2-0.
After almost thirty minutes of tireless efforts to equalize from the Tunisians, the final whistle blew following Brahimi’s goal, signaling the end of extra time and the grand victory of Algeria: The FIFA Arab Cup 2021 Champions.