Egypt snatched a last-gasp goal to secure a 2-0 victory over Algeria on Saturday and force a playoff against their opponents to decide the final African place in the 2010 World Cup finals.
Emad Moteab was the hero when he scored five minutes into stoppage time at the end of the Group C match to send the passionate home fans into raptures and break Algerian hearts.
The two North African countries finished level at the top of the group with identical records and will now head to neutral Sudan for Wednesday's playoff.
Algeria, who fell behind after two minutes to a goal by Amr Zaki, missed several chances to score a vital away goal and were just seconds away from qualifying for the finals in South Africa when Egypt snatched their dramatic second goal.
The build-up to the match had been marred by hostility, including stones being thrown at the Algerian team bus as it drove from Cairo airport to their hotel.
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