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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Focus International Economy Opinion Interview Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The first point
By Nashwa Abdel-TawabEgypt took its first tentative step on the road to the 2002 World Cup, coming away with a draw which some critics believed should have been a win.
While it gives Egypt a valuable away point, the 0-0 tie against Senegal in Dakar on Sunday left Egypt already three points behind Group C leaders Morocco which beat Algeria 2-1 in Fez. Although Morocco has played one more game, Sunday's results show Morocco already slipping away and highlights even more the significance of next January's encounter in Cairo. Most pundits agree Egypt will have to beat Morocco then if it is to have any chance of qualifying.
"An away draw is better than a loss," Egypt's coach Mahmoud El-Gohari said after Sunday's match, adding he was satisfied with the point.
Others are not so sure, saying Egypt created few but enough chances to come away with three points. While Senegal held possession far more, it rarely threatened goalkeeper Nader El-Sayed. On the other end, Hazim Imam had two fairly clear shots on goal but the lack of clinical finishing on both occasions failed to get the ball in the net.
Egyptian defender Samir Kamouna (left) tries to stick close to a Senegal striker
A 25th minute goal by Ahmed Hassan was ruled offside but El-Gohari thought otherwise. "He was not [offside] and when you see the replay, you'll see."
Morocco took advantage of the draw in Dakar to the fullest, beating Algeria 2-1 in Morocco. Algeria went ahead 1-0 at the half with a goal by Ali Masabeeh but its famed defence could not absorb the pressure in the second. Morocco's Kamatshu struck twice to push Morocco to the top of its group with four points. In its first qualifier, Morocco drew with Namibia 0-0 in Namibia.
Tragedy struck in a Group E qualifier between Zimbabwe and South Africa in Harare. Police fired tear gas at bottle-throwing fans during Sunday's match, setting off a stampede that killed 12 people.
Players from both teams choked and writhed on the field, covering their faces as tear gas spread through the stadium.
Fans hurled bottles and other projectiles onto the field after South Africa scored its second goal in the 84th minute, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead. Police then fired tear gas at the crowd of more than 50,000. A stampede broke out as the fans scrambled to leave National Sports Stadium. A fire hydrant was torn from its mountings, spraying water over fleeing fans. Stadium officials called the police response a "total overreaction," the South African Press Association reported. The game was called off with 10 minutes left but South Africa's 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe was ruled official.
South Africa made it to the first round of the 1998 World Cup and placed third in this year's African Nations Cup. Zimbabwe has never qualified for the World Cup and did not qualify for this year's African Nations Cup. In April, rioting soccer fans in Kenya forced officials to abandon a World Cup qualifier between Kenya and Malawi. Fans ripped out stadium seats and littered the field with debris. The 0-0 tie was declared the official score.
In the same group on Sunday, Guinea beat hosts Burkina Faso 3-2.
Group A saw African champion Cameroon thrash Angola 3-0 in a top-of-the-table clash in Yaounde. Lightning-fast winger Bernard Tchoutang scored twice within nine minutes midway through the second half to seal maximum points before a 55,000 crowd crammed into the Omnisports Stadium. Angola's resistance broke in the 20th-minute following a goal by Patrice Abanda, a new name from the seemingly endless Cameroonian conveyor belt of talent.
Cameroon, which also won two preliminary matches against Somalia and a group game in Libya by three-goal margins, leads the standings with six points, three more than Angola and Zambia. Zambia beat Togo 2-0 ending a three-game losing slide. In Lusaka, Zambia's Harry Milinzi's goal put the hosts ahead in the 25th minute and substitute Chaswe Nsofwer scored in 68th, two minutes after entering the match. Zambia improved to 1-1 in Group A; Togo is 0-1.
Group B favourite Nigeria came unstuck in Liberia, losing 2-1 with former Arsenal striker Christopher Wreh on target twice for the Lone Stars while 1999 African Footballer of the Year Nwankwo Kanu scored for the Super Eagles. Haphazard Nigerian preparations included the late arrival of players, poor fitness levels, eviction from their hotel due to unpaid bills and a lack of transport for training. Dutch coach Jo Bonfrere warned that victory was not inevitable in Monrovia and so it proved as the George Weah-inspired Liberians took a fourth-minute lead and snatched the winner five minutes into the second half.
Nigeria dropped to third place behind Ghana, which overwhelmed Sierra Leone 5-0 in Accra, and idle Sudan. Christian Amoah scored twice and Charles Akunnor, Yaw Preko and Ismail Addo once for the Black Stars. After Amoah put the four-time African champions ahead with an early goal, the Leone Stars prevented further damage until 15 minutes into the second half when the same player struck again to trigger a late goal rush.
In Tunis, Tunisia advanced to the top of its group by beating Madagascar 1-0 at home. The sole goal was scored by striker Zoubeir Beya, who plays for Fribourg in Germany's first division. The North Africans, World Cup finalists in 1998, are now top of Group D, replacing the Ivory Coast. Tunisia started sluggishly and seemed unable to break through Madagascar's defence. Their lacklustre attempts at a goal only earned them whistles of derision from the 10,000 spectators. But the expulsion of Tunisia's Hassene Gabsi in the 38th minute, after getting a second yellow card for dissent, injected new life into the depleted team of Italian coach Francesco Scoglio. Their efforts were rewarded with a first-half injury time goal by Beya, who flicked the ball into the goal with his heel in the 47th minute. In Kinshasa, the Republic of Congo beat Congo 2-0 before 70,000 fans.
