Egypt succumbed to a shock 1-0 defeat to Madagascar in Antananarivo, thanks to a goal from Menahely Ruphin.

Despite dominating the game, Egypt were beaten after being caught flat-footed through a swift counter-attack.

After coping with incessant Egyptian pressure, Madagascar broke through in the 73rd minute, with Ruphin latching onto a long pass.

His pace took him past the Egyptian defence, rounding goalkeeper El Hadary with delightful skill.

It was a cruel end for the Egyptians, after missing several chances of their own.

Wael Gomaa wasted a close-range header after 15 minutes and Madagascar's goalkeeper stretched to full length to save Belal's shot in the 36th.

Just before half time, Egypt appeared to have scored the opening goal but Belal's strike was ruled out by the assistant referee, who had spotted an infringement.

At the end of the match, the disallowed goal provoked fury in the Egyptian camp.

"The referee ruled out a perfect goal for us, but this the way African football is," said Hany Abu Reida of the Egyptian FA.

"It is a shocking result. We dominated the whole game and missed a lot of chances, Madagascar scored from the only chance they got.

"I am really disappointed but I hope the result does not affect Egypt's new coach Mohsen Saleh and his new selection of players," Reida said.