After a good 3-0 start for the Egyptians over Libya, a 0-0 draw with Morocco left die-hard fans disappointed. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab reports on a coming nail-biting game between the Pharaohs and the Elephants on Saturday Unlike other groups, Group A matches were crammed with fans, culminating in a whopping 76,000 attendance to support the Egyptian team. Yet the performance in the games was hazy and tense and failed to meet fans' expectations. Egypt must beat Ivory Coast in their last group game to qualify to the quarter-finals. Morocco only have a chance to qualify if they beat Libya and the host loses by a wide margin. Egypt and Ivory Coast's Saturday showdown will be their 18th encounter since the seventies when the Egyptians won ten times, drew thrice and lost six. The Elephants has shown supremacy over the Egyptian side since the ninties. The Elephants cared little about cheers and fanatic support of their rivals' fans. They, lately defeated the Pharaohs in the home and the away game in the last World and African Cup qualifiers. Egypt will play the match with winning in mind in order to avoid clashing with Cameroon in the quarterfinals and in case they failed, they'll aim at a 0-0 draw against the Elephants who will play with a relaxed team in a friendly spirit. Another flaw will face the Egyptians beside the tension they displayed. The Ivorian coaching team has studied the Egyptian strategy. Assistant Manager Gerard Gilli was the former manager of the Pharaohs in the 2000 CAN. Gilli submitted a full report to head coach Henri Michel highlighting the points of weakness and strength not only in the team but in the Egyptian mentality on the pitch. The other Arab face-off between North Africans is between Morocco and Libya which will take place at the same time in the Military Stadium. It might be an easier game for the Moroccans. They are in better shape than the Greens. Despite their loss in their first game 1-0 to the Elephants and their 0-0 draw with the Egyptians, the Moroccans performed better and displayed a unique technique. Moreover, the Libyan fans -- unlike all expectations - cheered for the Atlas Lions during their second group game in front of Egypt last Tuesday, although the Egyptian fans supported the Libyans in their game against the Elephants hoping they would return the gesture towards the Egyptian team. The team might, as well, make the Moroccans mission easier. And if that happens things will deteriorate between the Arab teams. Amazingly during the Egypt-Morocco match, clashes between the Egyptian and Libyan fans took place in the stands. But security personnel controlled the situation in the second half after chairs were being exchanged between fans in addition to water bottles. Before the match, team management promised a surprise in technique and line-up; the stands were crammed with supportive fans who were enthusiastic about the game; the media supported the team and their manager more than any time before despite their differences of opinion. However the Pharaohs failed to satisfy their fans and ended the game between two North African giants in a 0-0 draw. The game witnessed an attacking dominance of the Atlas Lions from the sides and some good chances from the Egyptian team. Morocco, with the experienced Noureddine Naybet and Talal El Karkouri gave the Egypt strikers little space. Egypt's Ahmed Fathi had the best chance of the game, after being put clear on the right by his captain Ahmed Hassan. But his 23rd minute effort did not materialise, to the worry of the home crowd. With no goals in the first half, the atmosphere in the stadium became tense, as Mido, the arrowhead of the Egyptian attack, failed to click in the tie and was eventually substituted in the 80th minute. Morocco goalkeeper Tarek El-Jarmouni was forced into a number of saves in the second half, with the most memorable coming off Abdel Zaher El-Sakka, whose 30-metre strike tipped over the bar. Emad Moteab, who came on as a substitute for Mido, failed to bury a last minute chance that could have sealed victory for Egypt. With only the goalkeeper to beat, he miskicked his shot which went weakly into the arms of El-Jarmouni. Morocco's coach Mohamed Fakhir commented on the game, "both teams played well as we expected but the goalkeepers were here." Fakhir, who took the job two weeks before the start of the ACN after the flee of the French coach Philippe Troussier, thinks there is still a chance for the Moroccans. On the other hand Egypt's coach Hassan Shehata didn't attend the press conference. Assistant coach Shawki Gharib added, "we did a good match and wasted lots of chances in front of Morocco who showed strong performance in front of us during the last ten meetings. The chances for both teams were available till the end of the game, so let's hope for the best in the coming match." Egypt was criticised for the lineup, the substitutes and the technique but Gharib assures it was the better way of the game according to the head coach and his assistants. Egypt's goalkeeper Essam El-Hadari was by many accounts the best player of the match due to his saves that saved Egypt from an embarrassing loss on home ground. Wael Gomaa, Mohamed Aboutraika, Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, were booked in Libya match and Amr Zaki was booked in Morocco's game. Earlier Egypt opened the group matches with a 3-0 victory over 10-side Libya in front of the home fans at the Cairo International Stadium. After a dramatic opening ceremony featuring images of the country's historic past, Ahmed 'Mido' Hossam, Tottenham striker, who drove home a far-post header from Mohamed Abdel-Wahab's corner with just 17 minutes on the clock. Five minutes later, Mohamed Aboutrika curled in a stunning 30-yard free-kick to all but secure the three points before half-time. Midway through the half, BBC African Footballer of the Year Mohamed Barakat was hauled down in the box by Libya's Uruguay-born goalkeeper Luis de Augustini, who received a second yellow card for the challenge. The first task of substitute goalkeeper Muftah Ghazalla was to face Mido for the resulting penalty. Impressively, Ghazalla blocked the shot but he failed to hold on to the ball and was beaten by Ahmed Hassan's follow-up. The Pharaohs were watched in the International Stadium by the country's president, Hosni Mubarak. As for Ivory Coast, they poorly performed in front of Libya and unconvincingly beat Morocco at their opener game as well by a controversial penalty converted by Didier Drogba. Drogba and Yaya Toure put their team forward as group winners after beating Libya 2-1. The result leaves Ivory Coast with six points after two games and a place in the quarter-finals, after Egypt drew 0- 0 with rivals Morocco in the other Group A game. "I'm delighted that we've qualified for the quarter- final and all credit go to the players," said Ivory Coast coach Henri Michel. "This result permits us to have a more relaxed atmosphere before we play our last game against the host nation," said Michel after his side's win. He was not happy with his team, however, who have not performed up to their usual standards in this tournament thus far. "We missed too many chances and we didn't give the kind of commitment we need," said Michel. "But we were too strong to lose the game." But the West Africans were given a genuine scare by the impressive Libya, who equalised through Abdel-Salam Khamis. The Elephants were awarded the penalty when Walid Regragui was judged to have dragged down Drogba in the 37th minute. Drogba scored from the spot with a low shot into the left-hand corner that beat Tarik El-Jarmounis, who dived the right way but was unable to get his hand to the ball.
