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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Heritage Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters It could have been worse
Nashwa Abdel-TawabEgypt failed to hold on to a two-goal lead, drawing 3-3 with Côte d'Ivoire in a qualifying game for the Sydney Olympics. The Group C clash saw a 12-goal spree in all, ending with Morocco replacing Côte d'Ivoire as leader of the four-country pack. Morocco triumphed 4-2 in Tunisia despite having two players sent off.
The results left Morocco with six points at the halfway stage, followed by Côte d'Ivoire with five, Egypt with four and Tunisia out of the running with just one. Egypt's earlier results were a 1-0 loss to Morocco and a 2-1 win against Tunisia.
A place at the 16-nation finals in September awaits the group winners, while the best runners-up from the three African groups play off with New Zealand for another berth.
Egypt seemed poised to win when Mohamed Farouk gave it a half-time lead that Tarek Said doubled within 60 seconds of the restart at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan. But an Ivorian team dominated by players from top club ASEC had other ideas. Three consecutive goals from Habib Kolo Toure, Bonaventure Kalou and Siaka Chico Tiene stunned the visitors. The final twist in the thriller came with nine minutes left when Ahmed Abdel-Zaher levelled to keep Egypt within reach of a record 11th appearance at the Games. Egypt will meet Côte d'Ivoire in Cairo next Sunday for the second-leg encounter.
While Egypt lost an opportunity three points, the away draw was impressive, not least because the team was undermanned. Star striker Ahmed Salah Hosni, who impressed in the recently concluded African Cup of Nations (ACN), was on duty for German club Stuttgart. Defender Ibrahim Said was injured. Out of form goalkeeper Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed was left off the roster and Ayman Abdel-Aziz was left behind after arguing with management that he should be selected the team's captain.
On the other hand, Côte d'Ivoire players were probably concerned about meeting the same fate as their senior counterparts who were detained in a military camp for three days as punishment for their poor ACN performance.
Egypt's German coach Zegi Heeld said in pre-match interviews that he would be satisfied with a draw but not anymore. "After being so close to victory and dominating the match except for the first 10 minutes of the second half, I'm very upset," Heeld said. "I don't want to blame the defence or the goalkeeper," he added, citing the team's overall lack of defensive discipline as the prime culprit.
In earlier matches, defending champions Nigeria won 3-2 in Uganda in Group A and South Africa defeated Cameroon 2-0 near Johannesburg. Ghana beat Guinea 2-0 in Accra in Group B.
