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Preview: Qualification for final round a formality for Egypt A win for Egypt in Sunday's away game to Mozambique will be enough to lift them to the final round of the World Cup qualifiers with one match remaining
Egypt will secure passage to the final round of the World Cup qualifiers with one match to spare if they overcome minnows Mozambique away from home in Sunday's Group G encounter. The formidable Pharaohs, the only African team to bag maximum 12 points from the opening four matches, should find no difficulty in brushing aside their unfancied opponents who suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat by Guinea in their previous game. Mozambique are also reeling after dismissing German coach Gert Engels following a string of poor results, appointing John Chissano as an interim boss. "We realise that Egypt will not be an easy opponent, especially that they managed to score seven goals away from their homeland," Chissano said. "We respect the Egyptian team, but we are seeking to beat them on Sunday." A draw for Egypt, who are five points clear of second-placed Guinea with two matches remaining, will be enough to lift them to the final two-legged playoff if the latter failed to beat bottom side Zimbabwe in the other group game on Sunday. Egypt maintained their 100 percent record in the group after claiming a 4-2 victory at Zimbabwe in an exciting clash last week. They were criticized for some defensive lapses but took heart from an impressive display by promising forward Mohamed Salah, who scored a hat-trick to give Egypt their second away win after they beat Guinea 3-2 last year. Veteran playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika was equally impressive, scoring a goal and creating three as he forged an effective partnership with Salah, with Egypt coach Bob Bradley opting against deploying an established striker due to shortage of options upfront. It remains to be seen whether Bradley will stick to the three-man defence he deployed against Zimbabwe despite some errors by Ahmed Hegazy and Mahmoud Fathallah which helped the hosts score two goals last week. Egypt defeated Mozambique 2-0 in Alexandria in their opening Group G game last year. Egypt's probable line-up: Sherif Ekramy, Ahmed Hegazy, Mahmoud Fathallah, Wael Gomaa, Ahmed Shedid, Ahmed Fathi, Ibrahim Salah, Mohamed El-Neny, Mohamed Salah, Mohamed Abou-Treika, Ahmed Hassan Mekki (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/74061.aspx
