Salah strike sends Egypt to final World Cup qualifying round

Egypt through to the final phase of the World Cup qualifiers after claiming a 1-0 victory over Mozambique in Maputo on Sunday

Mohamed Salah maintained his blistering goal-scoring run to give Egypt a 1-0 victory at Mozambique and a place in the final World Cup qualifying round with one game to spare on Sunday.
The in-form Basel winger, whose hat-trick inspired Egypt to a 4-2 win at Zimbabwe last week, struck four minutes before the break to help the Pharaohs keep their 100 percent record in Group G intact.
Salah, who took his tally to 14 goals in 22 international appearances, will shoulder Egypt's hopes to end a 24-year wait for a World Cup appearance, having last played in the football's most prestigious tournament in 1990 in Italy.
Egypt are on top of the group with maximum 15 points from five games. They boast an unassailable eight-point lead over second-placed Guinea, who played a game less but even a victory over Zimbabwe later on Sunday would do them no favors.
Mozambique lie second from bottom with two points, one ahead of Zimbabwe.
The African draw for the final round, involving the 10 group winners from round two, will be made on 16 September in Cairo. The five best-placed sides from the world rankings of 12 September will be seeded for the draw.
Egypt coach Bob Bradley reverted back to his tested 4-2-3-1 formation, having tried a three-man defence in last week's win over Zimbabwe.
Zamalek's Ahmed Gaafar spearheaded Egypt's attack, playing in front of attacking midfielders Mohamed Abou-Treika, Salah and Ahmed Eid.
Both sides exchanged shy attempts in a slow-tempo first half but it came to life in the 41st minute when a three-man maneuver gifted Egypt the lead.
A trademark defence-splitting pass from Abou-Treika released right-back Ahmed Fathi, whose cut-back found the unmarked Salah in the area to drill home with aplomb.
Mozambique pushed forward in the early stages of the second half in a bid to level the score but hardly created genuine goal-scoring opportunities.
Egypt keeper Sherif Ekramy dived to his right to superbly block a powerful shot from the edge of the area in a rare effort by the hosts.
At the other end, Egypt were unlucky not to put the result beyond doubt in the latter stages, having exposed the gaps in Mozambique's backline via some fast-paced counter attacks.
Abou-Treika wasted Egypt's best chance with five minutes remaining when he was picked out unmarked by a neat long ball. However, he blasted over the bar with the goal at his mercy.
Salah also squandered two late opportunities but his first-half strike was enough to lift Egypt to the decisive playoff.
(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/74158.aspx