1 - 7 March 2001
Issue No.523
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 1 - 7 March 2001 Issue No.523 |
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World Cup reprieve
Egypt could have fallen six points behind Morocco this week in the race for the 2002 World Cup. Instead, it is only three points adrift and has a game in hand.
Morocco's defenders had their hands full trying to contain Senegal
(photo: AFP)
The difference between what might have been and what is the present situation is in part due to a last-minute goal from defender Ibrahim Said which gave Egypt a 1-1 draw in Namibia. The other stroke of good luck came in Rabat where Senegal surprisingly held Morocco to a scoreless draw.
The implausible results left Morocco standing at the top of Group C with six points from four matches, three more than Egypt which has an extra match in hand. Egypt could level with Morocco on points if it gets past Algeria in Cairo on 9 March. Egypt will play a friendly against Leicester City in Cairo three days before Algeria's clash. It will meet Estonia in a friendly in Cairo on 20 March, three days before an African cup qualifier against Libya in Tripoli.
It was a heartbreaking end for a Namibian team seeking its first victory in Group C as its hopes of a first appearance at the showcase of international soccer receded. It had taken the lead when Tjikuzu scored in the 49th minute from a counterattack. Egypt's equaliser was the outcome of a cross from left fullback Mohamed Omara whose ball could only be nicked by Ahmed Hossam's head. But the misplay allowed the ball to bounce long enough for Said to poke it in.
"We were aiming for three points, but we are thankful we got one," Hani Abu Rida, Egyptian Football Association treasurer, said after the match. "Namibian football has flourished the last two years. They are now a tough team especially at home. It was a difficult encounter," he said of a team that had been trounced 7-1 by Egypt only three years ago.
The draw also pointed to how evenly balanced Group C is. Six out of the eight matches played thus far have ended in a draw. No team has yet contrived to win away.
Only group winners qualify for the finals in Japan and South Korea. Before the start of the campaign, Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia and South Africa, who all qualified for the 1998 World Cup, were seeded to top the five mini-leagues and represent Africa.
In Group E, Zimbabwe scored after only two minutes to set up an unexpected 2-1 away victory over Burkina Faso to collect its first group points.
Greece-based Kennedy Nagoli struck just two minutes into the first half in the dusty southern Burkina town of Bobo-Dioulasso, and recalled Peter Ndlovu added a second for Zimbabwe with 13 minutes gone.
It was an amazing start for the traditionally poor travellers from Southern Africa, who have never reached the finals of a major international competition.
Even a Moussa Dagano goal for the Stallions midway through the first half could not dampen Zimbabwe spirits, and it survived a second-half onslaught.
Zimbabwe had flown to the heart of West Africa with a makeshift squad lacking injured South Africa-based strikers Benjamin Mwaruwari and Tauya Mrewa.
But the return of senior striker Ndlovu from English First Division club Sheffield United after a series of disagreements with Zimbabwe soccer authorities proved a major boost.
Ndlovu refused to heed call-ups after the National Association refused to pay a parking fine he incurred at a London airport while away on national team duty.
At Blantyre, Phil Masinga scored in the 25th minute and his replacement, Siyabonga Nomvete, scored in the 81st to lead South Africa over Malawi 2-1. Patrick Madebi converted a penalty kick for Malawi in the 86th minute after South African goalkeeper Andre Arendse impeded an opposing player.
South Africa (3-0) leads Group E with nine points, two ahead of Guinea. Zimbabwe has three points, followed by Malawi and Burkina Faso with a solitary point each.
African champion Cameroon maintained its relentless march to the World Cup finals with a 1-0 home victory over Zambia.
Italy-based striker and African Footballer of the Year Patrick Mboma earned the Indomitable Lions their fourth consecutive victory in Group A with a goal midway through the first half at the Omnisport Stadium.
Cameroon has 12 points, Angola six, Zambia three and Togo and Libya, which shared six goals in a Benghazi thriller on Friday night, one each with four out of 10 mini-league rounds completed.
Only Angola, which hosts the Lions in May, appears to have any chance of overtaking a country seeking a fourth successive appearance at the world football showcase.
It was the fifth loss in a row for once-feared Zambia and it seems a matter of when rather than if Dutch coach Jan Brouwer loses his job to former star Kalusha Bwalya, who indicated he is ready to take charge.
Cameroon is not the only team with a firm grip on their pool. Tunisia crushed the Democratic Republic of Congo 6-0 in Tunis with young strikers Ali Zitouni and Zied Jaziri grabbing two goals each.
The North Africans, who led 3-0 at half-time against ill-prepared rivals, have opened a six-point lead over Ivory Coast in Group D, which has been cut to four contenders with cash-strapped Congo withdrawing.
Tunisia has already drawn in Ivory Coast so nothing less than an unlikely victory for the Elephants in Tunis in April will restore intrigue to this group.
Liberia is the shock leader of Group B -- expected to be a private war between bitter rivals Ghana and Nigeria -- after a 65th-minute Zizi Roberts strike gave it a 1-0 win over Sierra Leone in Monrovia.
The match had been in doubt until Friday as Sierra Leone players feared for their safety in a neighbouring country they accuse of supporting anti-Freetown rebels.
Brushing aside a first-round loss in Sudan, Liberia has won three matches on the trot to claim nine points, three more than idle Nigeria and six ahead of Ghana, who slumped 1-0 to youthful Sudan in Omdurman.
United Arab Emirates-based striker James Joseph, the only overseas-based player on the Sudanese side, struck the winner after 71 minutes, leaving the Ghanaians with little hope of making it to Japan or South Korea.
Defeat completed a hat-trick of losses for new coach Jones Attuquayefio, who led Accra club Hearts of Oak to the African Champions League title in December only to lose his magical touch at national-team level.
Nothing less than a home victory over Nigeria in 14 days can restore hope to the Black Stars, who have won the African Nations Cup four times but consistently flop when it comes to the World Cup.
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