7 - 13 June 2001
Issue No.537
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 7 - 13 June 2001 Issue No.537 |
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Bonded with Africa
Once again Egypt made it to the African Nations Cup. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab reports on the latest football success and rounds up the rest of the qualifying matches
Egypt has a certain affinity with the African Nations Cup. It had appeared in the tournament a record 17 times and following its 3-2 victory over Sudan, the attachment continues.
Hossam, (c), gets ready to jump for joy after scoring Egypt's first goal against Sudan
photo: Hussein Fathi
Sunday's win in Alexandria gave Egypt 12 points and an 18th appearance in the Cup, to be played in Mali from 19 January to 10 February 2002.
Heading for Mali along with Egypt in group seven will be Côte d'Ivoire, which maintained its impressive recent form with a 3-0 away triumph over Libya.
After building a three-goal lead over struggling Sudan, Egypt let up and allowed its Nile neighbour to score twice to make the scoreline respectable. Sudan's two goals ended a four-match goalless cup run.
Seemingly inspired by his recent acquisition by Ajax Amsterdam, 18-year-old Ahmed Hossam scored the go-ahead goal 19 minutes into the game. Ahmed Hassan's cross was met forcefully by Hossam who slammed the ball high into the net.
In the 51st minute Hossam made it 2-0 with a solo run on the left which ended with a deceptive grounder that eluded goalkeeper Ahmed Al- Nour. It became 3-0 six minutes later when Stuttgart's Ahmed Salah Hosni tapped in the ball from close range following another inch-perfect cross from Hassan.
Satisfied with the lead, the Egyptians surrendered midfield control, leaving the door open for a Sudanese comeback. The guests were rewarded for their efforts in the 69th minute when James Joseph rose high to meet Numeri's cross. His weak header caught goalkeeper Nader El- Sayed napping.
One minute before time, Sudan was awarded a penalty kick when Tunisian referee Mohsen Bokseer whistled Hassan for a foul. Farouk Jabra made no mistake in converting the spot kick.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Sudan's coach Ahmed Ba Bakr said he was satisfied with his players' performance. "We played a good match and gave Egypt a hard time even though our preparations were not very adequate," he said.
"We were worried before the match because many of our key players were exhausted after a long season with their clubs," Egypt's coach Mahmoud El-Gohari said. "However, the most important thing is that we won and made it to the finals. We walked away with several good lessons and I hope we make good use of them in the World Cup qualifiers." Egypt has a crucial World Cup qualifying clash against Morocco on 30 June in Rabat.
El-Gohari led Egypt to its last African cup title in 1998. Egypt and Ghana share the record for Cup victories with four wins each.
Along with Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Liberia, Morocco, Algeria, Togo, Senegal, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire booked their tickets for the finals in Mali. The host nation and Cameroon, the defending champion, qualify automatically.
The four remaining places will be contested from 15-17 June. Madagascar, Tunisia, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo are well-placed to advance.
In other games, an early Kader Keita goal set Côte d'Ivoire on the road to a surprisingly easy 3- 0 win in Tripoli where fans reacted to a lacklustre Libyan showing by throwing projectiles at the players.
Algeria also went through to the final after a 3- 2 win over Angola in Annaba on Friday in a group four match. Algeria topped its group with 11 points. Either Burkina Faso with eight points or Angola with five points will join Algeria. Burundi is out of the race.
Nigeria, with a 1-0 win against Malawi, followed Algeria into the finals. With 11 points, Nigeria finished first in group one and has one match remaining. The second qualifying place is to be contested by Madagascar, Zambia and Namibia, all with five points.
With a 1-1 draw in Nairobi against Kenya, Morocco booked its ticket for Mali 2002. With 10 points, Morocco is assured of finishing top of group three. Kenya, with six points and Tunisia and Gabon with five points each, will vie for second place in two weeks time.
In Kampala, in group five, Togo blanked Uganda 3-0 to qualify for the finals. Togo's seven points and Senegal's five are enough to see both teams through. Uganda remained at the bottom with only one point in four matches.
Ghana shook off the absence of its European- based stars to snatch a 2-1 win over Zimbabwe in group six with substitute Isaac Boakye hitting the injury-time winner in Harare.
Liberia was not at its best after being held 1-1 by a second-string South African side in Monrovia in group two. Visiting coach Carlos Queiroz was furious with a penalty from which the home team levelled. Looking anything but a team on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup, Liberia had referee Lucien Bouchardeau to thank for clinching only a second Nations Cup appearance.
Group 7 W D L GF GA Pts Egypt 4 0 1 9 4 12 C d'Ivoire 3 1 1 7 2 10 Libya 2 0 3 4 9 6 Sudan 0 1 4 2 7 1
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