Egypt head coach Rui Vitoria heaped praise on his side’s inspired performance after their 1-1 draw against Algeria on Monday.

The Pharaohs were dealt an early blow in the game after going a man down with Mohamed Hany being sent off in the 30th minute. However, they took the lead through Hamdy Fathi in the second half before Algeria scored the equaliser late in stoppage time.

Despite the draw, Vitoria believes there are plenty of positives to take from the game as the Portuguese manager hailed Egypt’s display. “We had a really good game today,” Vitoria said in the press conference following the game.

“I thought we were strong overall and kept the same performance levels even after the sending-off. I am certainly delighted with the team’s effort. I will not talk much about the scoreline because my players did well and were impressive today regardless of the result.”

He added: “It’s not easy to play with ten men and then perform the way we did in terms of creating chances.”