Egypt face the possibility of being eliminated from the World Cup qualifiers in a preliminary round after a woeful show saw them slump to a stunning 1-0 defeat by minnows Chad in N'Djamena on Saturday. A diving header by skipper Ezechiel N'Douassel in the second half handed Chad their first ever win over Egypt in five meetings and was a sweet revenge for the 5-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of the Pharaohs at the same venue in September. On paper, Egypt still have a good chance to advance to the group stage when they host Chad in the second leg at Alexandria's Borg El-Arab Stadium on Tuesday but they will be under pressure before their own fans, given their long history of World Cup qualifying failures. Although Egypt have not qualified for the most prestigious football tournament since 1990, they are perennial participants in the latter stages of any qualifying marathon. They were close to reaching the 2010 and 2014 editions but lost to Algeria and Ghana respectively in playoffs. Any failure to reach the final round, which comprises of five four-team groups, will be unthinkable for the Egyptian football-mad fans, who count on veteran Argentinean boss Hector Cuper to deliver after more than two decades of disappointment. Classic formation Cuper played with a classic 4-4-2 formation featuring two strikers in Bassem Morsi and Portugal-based Ahmed 'Kouka' Hassan, although neither caused much trouble for the Chad defence. The team had to do without several regulars, including influential winger Mohamed Salah who was seriously injured in Roma's 2-0 Serie A victory over Lazio last Sunday. Egypt, as expected, asserted control from the very beginning, relying on the pace and trickery of winger Mahmoud Kahraba to penetrate the massed ranks of the resolute hosts, who looked determined not to suffer another drubbing such as the one they had in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers when they lost 5-1 in September. The in-form Zamalek man was the architect of Egypt's first chance after 16 minutes, getting the better of two challengers with some catchy feints before finding Kouka with a cutback but the Sporting Braga man's poor shot went wide. Kahraba also had a long-range shot that narrowly missed the target while Morsi fired high over with the goal at his mercy after running onto a threaded pass from central midfielder Mohamed Elneny of Basel. Chad only had a couple of half-chances, including a cross-cum-shot from Mahamat Labo that went over the crossbar after 32 minutes. Surprisingly, Egypt were on the back foot in the second half and were pegged back by a plucky Chad side, who laid siege to the area for long periods and managed to grab an unlikely lead on 73 minutes when N'Douassel was found unmarked by a right-wing cross to head home from close range. Egypt started with a central defensive pair of Ahmed Dweidar, who was making his first appearance after some solid displays with Zamalek, and Ahly's Ahmed Hegazy but the former made way for Saad Samir after apparently sustaining an injury. Samir, who plays for Ahly, was at fault for Chad's opener when N'Douassel caught him napping to send the home fans into raptures. Egypt pushed forward in the latter stages but were barely threatening, apart from a last-gasp header from Kouka following a free-kick which Chad keeper Mbairamadji Dillah, who replaced the injured Gerald Diara on 61 minutes, spilled before bringing it back to his grasp just before a follow up from an Egypt forward. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/166623.aspx
