Following Egypt's defeat by South Africa, the Football Association will hold an urgent meeting to discuss the future of the coach and his crew. Inas Mazhar reports It was more misery for holders Egypt who suffered their second successive loss of the qualifying campaign, this time against South Africa, 1-0, in Johannesburg on Saturday. Egypt can only be assured of defending their title next year with victories in their remaining three games but even that will depend on results elsewhere in their group and that of others. In groups A to J, the pool winners plus best two runners- up qualify for finals with co-hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The top two sides in Group K, which has five teams, will go through automatically. In Egypt's Group G, striker Katlego Mphela scored on the stroke of full time to aid South Africa to a lone goal win over reigning champions Egypt. The Pharaohs, still winless in the campaign, can no longer afford to drop points. Bafana Bafana have seven points, Niger on six points, Sierra Leone on two points and Egypt at the bottom with just a point. With the win, the Bafana Bafana maintain their unbeaten run in the group, with a foot in next year's continental tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. It was Egypt's second loss in the campaign. They lost to Niger 1-0 and played to a scoreless draw against Sierra Leone in Cairo. Egypt, the record three-in-a-row African champions and seven overall tournament winners, are facing the humiliating possibility of not making it to the finals of the ACN for the first time ever. In what turned out to be the last play of the match at Ellis Park Stadium, Mphela was put through by Reneilwe Letsholonyane and calmly netted the winner past goalkeeper Essam El-Hadari to send the over 48,000 supporters in attendance to a frenzy. It was El-Hadari's 124th international match. The Egyptian head coach Hassan Shehata and his technical staff might be forced to leave after this debacle, not only on the strength of the decision by the Egyptian Football Association, but by the sheer force of public pressure. Not everyone was unhappy with the loss, with some believing this was payback time for Shehata who had close ties with the deposed president Hosni Mubarak, and with his sons Gamal and Alaa. Apparently, Shehata and his staff could be seen in some of the few pro-Mubarak demonstrations. Shehata also refused that his salary be reduced, even during these times in which the economy is shaky. Public disaffection with Shehata has surfaced on Facebook which shows Shehata standing behind a podium, like Mubarak, announcing he is stepping down from his post! In general, the majority of Egyptians were indifferent to the result. Football, the normal passion of the public, has taken a backseat to the throes of the revolution. Today's meeting is expected to be the toughest ever for the EFA whose members are split. Some, led by the EFA president Samir Zaher, are in favour of Shehata and his assistants remaining at least until the end of the qualifications, supporting them to the end and praying for a miracle to happen. Others, led by former international Magdi Abdel-Ghani, want Shehata, who is the only coach to win three ACN titles in a row, to leave. Before the game, Shehata opened fire on the EFA and after the defeat he met with the players, thanked them for their effort and for all their achievements with the team during the past five years. He said his decision to stay or leave will soon be made irrespective of the EFA's stand. If he is to leave, he said he would do so for good and will depart in peace and not seek the money he would have gotten should he be fired. In the game, some experts believe that the Egyptians were robbed of victory and that the goal came in a crucial moment of lack of concentration. The Egyptians were better and sharper, especially Zamalek's Shikabala who proved to be the biggest threat to the South African defence with his darting runs. The big striker needed a splendidly timed tackle from Morgan Gould in the box as he attempted to find the game's opener in the 18th minute. Shikabala later drew a save from keeper Itumeleng Khune from a shot taken shortly before the half-time. Ellis Park was the venue of the Egyptians' most famous victory in recent years, a 1-0 win in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup against then world champions Italy. Shawki Gharieb, the Egyptian assistant coach, told reporters after the game against South Africa that it was "really tough" and blamed the suspension of the national league for not keeping the players fit and which prevented them from proper training and preparation. Gharieb told cafonline that he believes that Egypt's chances in qualifying are less than 50 per cent but that they will continue to push and that their biggest challenge will be the second leg match against South Africa scheduled for June in Cairo. Despite the win, South African coach Pitso Mosimane did not over-react. Mosimane said it was good to win but it wasn't the game of his life. " This is the most difficult time to play against the Egyptians, when they are wounded. Just tell me what you think we will get when we go to Cairo in June at that big venue packed to the rafters? Look, it's important that in every match we stay on top of the group and it's also important that we don't concede goals. You don't concede goals, it means you are not losing and you are earning that crucial point as well," Mosimane told cafonline. " There is still nine points to play for. Let's see what happens tomorrow between Niger and Sierra Leone. I still think Sierra Leone are the dark horses and maybe we shouldn't underestimate them," Mosimane added. In Niamey, Niger cruised past Sierra Leone 3-1 to move to second place with six points. In a round-up of the African qualifications throughout the weekend, the Zebras of Botswana were the biggest winners after becoming the first team to reach the final. Four-time winners Cameroon were shocked 1-0 by Senegal in Dakar, while Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire inched closer with crucial wins. In Group A, Cape Verde continued with their fine form with a 4-2 victory over Liberia in Praia. The second successive victory of the Islanders ensured they maintain their unbeaten status and take their tally to seven points. Mali moved to within a point of leaders Cape Verde courtesy a lone goal victory over Zimbabwe thanks to a Cheick Diabate goal. In Group B, Samson Siasia began his job as Nigeria coach on the right foot after spearheading the Super Eagles to a 4-0 win over Ethiopia in Abuja. Comeback kid Ikechukwu Uche and Peter Utaka scored a brace each to land the Super Eagles their second win of the campaign. In Antananarivo, Madagascar held Guinea to a 1-1 draw. Yvan Rajaonarimana put the hosts in the lead on 17 minutes before Djoulde Bah drew parity for the Syli Nationale in the closing stages of the game. Guinea leads the pack on seven points, Nigeria follow on six points, Ethiopia has three points with Madagascar with one point from three games. In Group C, Zambia made history by winning in Mozambique for the first time in 35 years with a 2-0 victory over the hosts with James Chamanga and Emmanuel Mayuka scoring for the Chipolopolo. The victory pushed Zambia to the summit of the group temporarily, awaiting the Libya-Comoros result in Bamako. Mozambique has four points with Comoros at the depth of the standings, pointless. In Group D, Algeria came out tops in the North African derby against Morocco with Hassan Yebda scoring the only goal of the match. It was the Fennecs first win of the campaign and it widens the group after Tanzania also came from behind to beat Central Africa Republic 2-1 in Dar Es Salaam. Midfielder Vianney Mabide put the Central Africa Republic in the lead on 13 minutes before second half efforts from Shaban Nditi and Mbwana Samata sealed victory. All four teams in the group have four points each. In Group E, Senegal continued their fine form with a lone goal victory over star-studded Cameroon in Dakar. Striker Demba Ba scored the only goal of the match in the dying embers of the game. Elsewhere, in Lumbumbashi, goals from Lomana LuaLua, Yves Ilunga and Zola Matumona powered DR Congo for their first win of the campaign against Mauritius. Senegal has nine points, DR Congo and Cameroon trail on four points apiece with Mauritius in that order without a win. In Group F, The Stallions of Burkina Faso took giant strides towards qualification with a 4-0 win over Namibia. Burkina Faso sits at the top of the group with six points, Gambia trail on three points with Namibia pointless, in that order. In Group H, a brace from Didier Drogba powered Cote d'Ivoire to a 2-1 win over Benin in the encounter played in Accra. Seidah Tchomogo shot Benin into the lead on 13 minutes before Drogba scored in each half to give the Elephants the much-needed win. In Kigali, Rwanda boosted their chances with a 3-1 over fellows Burundi. In Group I, Ghana's Black Stars maintained the record of not having lost to Congo in a competitive outing with a 3-0 win in Brazzaville. Lanky forward Prince Tagoe, Dominic Adiyiah and Sulley Muntari were on target for the Black Stars. In Omdurman, Sudan kept up the chase with a 3-0 win over whipping boys Swaziland. Midfielder Mohamed Bisha scored a brace with the other from Mohamed Tahir securing the maximum points. In Group J, The Harambee Stars of Kenya bounced back to beat Angola 2-1 in Nairobi. Manucho put Angolans in the lead on seven minutes before Jamal Mohamed and MacDonald Mariga scored in the second half for Kenya's first win of the campaign. Uganda also boosted their qualification chances with a lone goal victory over Guinea Bissau in Bissau thanks to David Obua's first half strike. In Group K, Botswana made history by qualifying for their first ever Africa Cup of Nations after beating Chad 1-0 in N'djamena. Striker Jerome Ramatlhakwane scored the only goal of the match as Botswana eased through with two games to spare. Elsewhere, Malawi beat Togo by a lone goal thanks to Esau Kanyenda's first half strike.
