Egypt and New Zealand tie 1-1 in Olympic soccer

MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- Egypt and New Zealand played to a 1-1 tie in Group C of the men's Olympic soccer tournament on Sunday.

New Zealand forward Chris Wood gave his team the lead from in front of the goal after a corner in the 17th minute at Old Trafford, and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah equalized from close range following a counterattack in the 40th.

Both teams had chances at the end but couldn't capitalize.

Egypt and New Zealand lost their opening matches and will need victories in the final round to advance. New Zealand will face Brazil and Egypt will play Belarus.

Only the top two teams in each of the four groups advance.

Knowing the draw wouldn't have helped much, both teams pressed forward in the final minutes.

The first chance in injury time came when Emad Meteab could have given Egypt the win but missed an open net after clearing two defenders and the goalkeeper inside the area. His teammates dropped to the ground behind him in despair.

Ahmed Fathi also came close for the Egyptians near the end, and New Zealand forward Shane Smeltz couldn't get a shot off despite a clear one-on-one chance as time was about to expire.

"It was an excellent game for the supporters to watch," New Zealand coach Neil Emblen said. "In the second half both teams were desperate for a win. We had chances up to the last minute. I think we needed to win the game more than Egypt needed because now we are the ones who will face Brazil."

The Egyptians came to the London Games hoping to restore some of the country's football pride nearly six months after the stadium riot that killed more than 70 people in the Port Said tragedy.