Nobody was looking

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EGYPT surprised all, even itself, when it won the World Military Football Cup, beating Algeria 1-0 in an all-Arab final. Four minutes into the second half, forward Mohamed Abdel-Wahab scored what would prove the winning goal by blasting a free kick just outside the box. It was Abdel-Wahab's third goal of the tournament. The Algerians fought back to try to level but the Egyptian defence and goalkeeper Gharieb Hafez proved too hard to crack. Though it was Egypt's fourth such title, few had predicted it would do well in this 10-day tournament that was held in Germany. The media hardly covered the championship; in fact, not a single match, not even the final, was broadcast on Egyptian TV. While most Egyptians were concentrating on the crucial World Cup African qualifier with the Ivory Coast and the Under-20 World Youth Cup -- Egypt lost both -- the military squad kept on winning quietly and methodically.