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Egypt’s national team produced a resilient defensive display to hold European champions Spain to a 0-0 draw in a World Cup warm-up at Barcelona’s RCDE Stadium on Tuesday.

The Pharaohs maintained their defensive discipline despite playing the final six minutes with 10 men after defender Hamdy Fathy was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Hassan opted for a largely unchanged side from the one that defeated Saudi Arabia 4-0 on Friday, making just one tactical tweak as Pyramids midfielder Mohanad Lasheen replaced Ahly winger Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet” in the starting XI.

On the other side, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente overhauling his lineup, making 10 changes from their recent victory over Serbia, with teenage sensation Lamine Yamal the only player to retain his spot.

The hosts dominated possession from the opening whistle, applying high pressure on the Egyptian backline, with Pedro Porro and Yamal both testing their luck from distance early on, but Egypt remained compact.

Hossam Hassan's men looked dangerous on the break, with Lasheen forcing a comfortable save from David Raya following a swift counter-attack. Despite Spain’s territorial dominance, Egypt’s well-organized defense successfully thwarted several scoring attempts in the final third.

Spain’s best chance of the first half came in the 20^th minute when Yamal found Dani Olmo with a sublime through ball. Olmo’s subsequent cross reached Ferran Torres, but his goal-bound effort was brilliantly blocked by the sliding Lasheen.

Egypt nearly took a shock lead just before the half-hour mark when Omar Marmoush latched onto a pass from Emam Ashour and unleashed a powerful right-footed strike from the edge of the box, only to see the ball bounce off the post with Raya beaten.

The near-miss boosted Egypt’s confidence, allowing them to progress further up the pitch, though Spain quickly reassumed control before the interval.

Ahmed El-Sayed "Zizo” and Ashour both had late efforts from distance, but neither troubled the Spanish keeper.

Hassan introduced Trezeguet during the break to provide more pace on the flank, while Spain made a series of high-profile substitutions, bringing on Rodri, Pedri, and Fermin Lopez.

Spain pushed aggressively for an opener in the second half, pinning the Pharaohs in their own territory, with goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir proving to be the hero of the night, producing a string of fine saves.

Shobeir first denied Lopez from close range after a clever solo run, before pulling off a spectacular reflex save to keep out a goal-bound effort from Pedri.

Spain continued to waste chances, with Cristhian Mosquera heading over from close range and Rodri dragging a shot wide, while Egypt struggled to maintain possession, failing to register a single touch in the Spanish penalty area for much of the second period.

The hosts came agonizingly close ten minutes from time when Borja Iglesias attempted to slot the ball over Shobeir, but his effort landed on the roof of the net.

The task became even harder for Egypt in the 84^th minute when Hamdy Fathy was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Iglesias, forcing Hassan immediately to react by bringing on center-back Hossam Abdel Maguid for Marmoush to shore up the defense.

In the dying minutes, Alejandro Grimaldo nearly broke the deadlock with a trademark curling free-kick, but Shobeir again came to the rescue, flicking the ball onto the crossbar.

The Pharaohs withstood a final Spanish siege to secure a morale-boosting draw against the continental champions as they continue their preparations for the upcoming World Cup.

Source: Al-Ahram Online