An error-ridden Egypt were battered 6-1 by the outmuscling Ghana in the first leg of the World Cup playoff tie Tuesday, an unprecedented humiliating result that saw the Pharaohs' long-held qualification for the gigantic competition all but gone. Capitalizing on their home advantage, Ghana came on with all guns blazing, tightening their grip on the game from the very beginning and handing Egypt one of their worst-ever defeats of all time. The defeat has become the biggest in both teams' head-to-head record. Obvious were Egypt's deadly defensive lapses and inability to play fluent football throughout the match. Asamoah Gyan opened the scoring as early as the 4th minute before Wael Gomaa scores an own goal to double the Black Stars' lead on 22 minutes. Egypt pulled one back when veteran playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika converted a penalty kick four minutes from the interval. However, Ghana still went to the dressing room with a two-goal lead after Abdul Majeed Waris netted the third on 44 minutes. Egypt were spanked three more times in the second half by Gyan (51), Sulley Muntari (72), and Christian Atsu (88). Egypt, who haven't made it to the World Cup since 1990, need to beat Ghana 5-0 in the second leg, which takes place on 19 November, in order to go through. More details to follow http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/84058.aspx
