1 - 7 February 2001
Issue No.519
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 1 - 7 February 2001 Issue No.519 |
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Not the time to tie
Egypt did most of the mauling as Morocco, famously known as the Atlas Lions, were a pussycat of a team. But at game's end it was the Moroccans who were roaring with joy when Egypt tied Morocco in a Group C African qualifier for next year's soccer World Cup. The scoreless draw in Cairo left Egypt with two points from two games, having tied Senegal 0-0 in their opener. Morocco leads the group with five points. It earlier beat Algeria 2-1 and tied with Namibia.
Egypt's flag was everywhere, Sabri being turtured while Hossam Hassan leaves a defender flat-footed
Photos: Mohamed Beideq
The striking form of the world's most capped international Hossam Hassan continued to desert him. Hassan was replaced in the second half of his 155th international, which proved to be a game of several chances for Egypt and only one clear opportunity for the Moroccan side.
Despite a crowd of 90,000 exhorting them to victory against an opponent they had beaten just twice in 30 years, the Pharaohs failed to make it three victories. Egypt slashed first blood in the sixth minute when defender Ibrahim Said fired a free kick that was saved well by Moroccan keeper Idrees Bin Zikri.
Ahmed Hossam squandered the closest scoring chance of the half when he headed Mohamed Omara's well-curved cross from the left side straight to the goal post in the 11th minute.
In the 25th minute, Omara sent Ahmed Hossam clear with another spectacular cross but Hossam, a 17-year-old with a big future but scant experience, headed the ball inches wide of the post.
Hossam had his first on-goal attempt in the 43rd minute when his close effort was cleared by the Moroccan defence to a corner kick.
In the 62nd minute, amid continuous Egyptian pressure, Abdel-Jalil Hadda, popularly known as Camacho, was on the verge of scoring against the run of play. The Moroccan got a step ahead of his defender and poked the ball in the direction of the goal. Nader El-Sayed charged out to cut the angle and got his fingertips to the ball to clear it wide.
Egypt's closest scoring opportunity came in the 82nd minute when Tarek El-Said skipped past when a Moroccan defender slipped, leaving him one-on-one with Bin Zikri. He eluded the oncoming keeper but in doing so, veered too far to the left. His subsequent angled shot nestled harmlessly by the side net.
Two minutes before full-time, a series of Egyptian passes in the penalty area ended with the ball at Ibrahim Hassan's feet but, with his back to the goal, the close-range shot made little impact.
The final attempt to break the deadlock came in injury time when Abdel-Sattar Sabri's curving free kick was blocked by Bin Zikri who went airborne for the save.
"It's strange to be so unlucky," clearly dejected Egyptian coach Mahmoud El-Gohari said. "But I don't want to hear any pessimistic talk. We still hope to qualify." Egypt still has six games left in the qualifying stages, meeting Namibia next on 25 February. But following two draws, the team must start winning matches if it wants to remain in the thick of things.
The weekend's other nine matches enhanced the reputation of some of the continent's high-profile strikers. Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa and the Ivory Coast all kept on course for the World Cup. The winner from each of the five African groups advances to soccer's marquee event.
George Weah's new coaching career reached a peak in Accra as he led Liberia to a famous 3-1 win over Ghana. But Weah overshadowed his contemporaries as Liberia moved level on six points with Group B leaders Nigeria, who hold top spot on goal difference.
The former World Footballer of the Year has been player-coach for his country for the past year and played his customary deep midfield role as the Lone Stars snatched victory with a late penalty from Oliver Makor and a last-minute goal by Portuguese-based Musa Shannon.
Liberia was cheered on by several hundred former refugees of its civil war. The victory touched off celebrations in the Liberian capital of Monrovia. Liberian President Charles Taylor, facing the threat of UN sanctions over accusations of weapons and diamond smuggling with Sierra Leonean rebels, was among the celebrants.
"We have demonstrated our unity today," he said in a radio broadcast. "With all the threat of sanctions, the world must know now that we are not joking. We are very serious."
The win left Ghana's high hopes of a first-ever World Cup finals appearance in tatters.
Three other players from struggling French club Marseille featured in wins over the past week. A hat-trick by Ibrahima Bakayoko steered Ivory Coast to a 3-1 win away at Madagascar and took to six his own tally of World Cup goals in the qualifying campaign. But the Ivorians still trail Tunisia in Group D after the North Africans scored an invaluable 2-1 away win at Pointe Noire, Congo. Ali Zitoni and Aziz Aziri each scored goals for Tunisia. Zitoni opened the scoring in the 35th minute, taking advantage of a shaky Congolese defence. Congo managed an equaliser just before the half-time whistle when Bongo Christ split the Tunisian defence and fired on target. Aziri scored the game-winner for Tunisia just three minutes into the second half.
Djamel Benmadi scored Algeria's goal in a narrow win over Namibia in Group C, while Pierre Issa, who is headed from Marseille to Chelsea in England on loan, featured in South Africa's 1-0 win over Burkina Faso in Rustenburg.
Nwankwo Kanu marked his return to the Nigerian side with a goal from the penalty spot in a 3-0 triumph over Sudan in Port Harcourt. The Arsenal striker had been at odds with the Nigerian Football Association after refusing to play in last year's Olympic Games. Kanu's return was overshadowed somewhat by two goals for Victor Agali, taking his tally to three in two international appearances after scoring on his debut for Nigeria two weeks ago.
African Footballer of the Year Patrick Mboma scored his fifth goal of the qualifying campaign as Cameroon kept up their 100 percent record in Group A with a 2-0 win at Togo. It was a second away win for the Indomitable Lions, playing their first match under new coach Jean-Paul Akono, and put them five points ahead in the group. Eto, who plays for Spanish first division team Mallorca, took advantage of a defensive blunder by Togo to put Cameroon ahead in the 56th minute. Mboma, the team's captain and member of Italian Serie A team Parma, gave Cameroon an insurance goal in the 69th minute. Cameroon (3-0-0) leads Group A with nine points. Togo (0-0-2) is in last place.
Guinea had its 100 per cent record in Group E ended at home when Malawi converted a second-half penalty for a surprise 1-1 draw. It leads South Africa by a point but has played one match more.
In Conakry, Guinea, Titi Camara, who plays for English Premier League team West Ham United, opened the scoring for Guinea. Malawi's Patrick Mabedi scored from the penalty spot to equalise. Guinea (2-1-0) leads Group E with seven points. Malawi (0-2-0) is in third place.
In Luanda, Angola, Bodunha scored two goals in three minutes as Angola topped Libya.
Libya opened the scoring in the 16th minute, but Bodunha's two second-half goals and Akwa's 75th-minute penalty gave Angola the Group A win in front of about 50,000 home fans.
Group C Standings
1. Morocco 3 1 2 0 2 1 5 2. Algeria 3 1 1 1 3 3 4 3. Senegal 2 0 2 0 1 1 2 4. Egypt 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 5. Namibia 2 0 1 1 0 1 1
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