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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Jan. - 3 Feb. 1999 Issue No. 414 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Jan. - 3 Feb. 1999 Issue No. 414
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Focus Economy Opinion Culture Features Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Morocco mauled but spared
AFRICAN footballer of the year Mustafa Hadji rescued Morocco as the giants struggled to stamp their authority on qualifying ties for the African Nations Cup. An early second-half goal from Hadji in Guinea earned the Atlas Lions a 1-1 draw. Tunisia were the only African qualifiers for the 1998 World Cup to sparkle, winning 1-0 in Algeria through a goal on the stroke of half-time from striker Faouzi Rouissi.
Tunis (right) overcoming Algeria (left) 1-0 (photo: AFP)
Morocco, narrow midweek losers to world champions France in Marseille, fell behind after 28 minutes to a Suleiman Oulare goal in Kamsar and Hadji struck 120 seconds after the break.
Cameroon, fielding an all-professional team for the first time, never got to grips with an uneven pitch and terrier-like opponents in Eritrea and were fortunate to escape with a 0-0 draw.
Sluggish South Africa were equally unimpressive in their 1-1 draw in Mauritius and even the psychological boost of a Philemon Masinga goal one minute before half-time failed to lift spirits. Desire Periatambée, who plays in the French second division, equalised with a low drive that slow-reacting goalkeeper Hans Vonk could only help into the net after 54 minutes.
Goals by Garba Lawal and Finidi George gave Nigeria a 2-0 victory over Burundi and moved the 1994 champions atop Group 5. The Nigerians, who withdrew the week before the 1996 tournament and were banned from the 1998 finals because of it, improved to 1-1-0 and four points, one ahead of Burundi. Nigeria, back to full strength for the visit of Burundi following a series of cash disputes with officials, were slow to take control in the oppressive heat of Abeokuta. George created the first goal for Lawal and scored the second with a close-range tap-in after sprinting on to a headed pass from Raphael Chukwu.
Tunisia, the only country to have beaten Algeria at home in a Nations Cup qualifier, did it again to take a stranglehold on Group 7 while 1990 winners Algeria are pointless.
Zambia staged the most dramatic comeback of the round as Rotson Kilambe and Harry Milanzi struck inside three minutes with time ticking away to grab a 2-1 victory in Madagascar.
Individual honours went to Portuguese-based striker Fabrice 'Akwa' Maieco, whose hat-trick gave Angola a 3-1 triumph over Gabon in Luanda. Maieco is the leading cup scorer with five goals.
Christian Kanyengele scored a goal in each half to lead Congo to a 2-1 victory over Kenya in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa. Kanyengele struck in the 16th minute and the 71st minute for the Simba Lions. Mike Okot briefly tied the score for Kenya with a goal in the 67th minute.
The Sierra Leone-Togo match has been postponed indefinitely due to the civil war in the West African nation.
Modibo Diallo struck in the first and last minutes as Côte d'Ivoire beat Namibia 3-0 in Abidjan. Ibrahim Diomande was the other scorer for a dominant elephants team. Being the defending champions, Egypt qualifies automatically, as do hosts Zimbabwe.
