Late strike, top of the group: Zamalek’s 2-1 win over Al Masry secures CAF Confederation Cup leadership
1 February 2026
Match Recap
The Cairo-based clubs Zamalek and Al Masry produced a 2-1 CAF Confederation Cup thriller, with Zamalek climbing to eight points and taking the Group D lead.
Hossam Abdel-Magid converted a 24th-minute penalty to give the White Knights the lead, but Al Masry struck back in the 34th minute through Salah Mohsen from another spot-kick. Zamalek restored their advantage late in the second half when Addi Debagh struck in the 75th minute.
With eight points, Zamalek sit top of the group, a point ahead of Al Masry and Kaizer Chiefs, while Zesco United stay bottom with zero.
For Zamalek, the starting lineup included Mohamed Sobhi, Ahmed Khodary, Mahmoud Hamdi El-Wenesh, Hossam Abdel-Magid, Mohamed Ibrahim, Mohamed Ismail, Mohamed El-Sayed, Adam Kaid, Shiko Banza, Addi Debagh and Juan Bizera.
Al Masry fielded a lineup featuring Mahmoud Hamdi, Mustafa Al-Ash, Khaled Sobhi, Baher Al-Mohmadi, Karim Al-Ariqi, Amid Swafata, Bonor Mugisha, Abdul Rahim Dghom, Hassan Ali, Salah Mohsen and Osama Al Zamrawi.
The action began with both sides pressing for an early goal, and Zamalek earned a penalty through Shiko Banza, converted by Hossam Abdel-Magid.
Al Masry pressed for an equalizer and earned a late first-half penalty, converted by Salah Mohsen to make it 1-1.
In the second half, Zamalek looked sharper, with changes that included bringing on Nasser Mansi and Ahmed Sharif to boost the attack.
A corner taken by Addi Debagh was poorly dealt with by Al Masry's goalkeeper, and Debagh buried the rebound to put the White Knights ahead 2-1.
Moments later Adam Kaid struck the crossbar with a curling effort, but the scoreline remained 2-1 as both teams pressed on with sturdy defending and late chances.
The match finished with a valuable win for Zamalek, keeping them atop Group D.
Punchline 1: If jokes had a sniper’s aim, this one would land in the goalmouth and still be funny.
Punchline 2: Timing is everything—tonight Zamalek showed that a well-placed joke and a well-placed strike both require perfect aim.
