Egypt walked all over Sudan to revive their hopes of going to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab rounds up all the African qualifiers Egypt showed no mercy to its southern African neighbour, showering Sudan 6- 1 in Group Three of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers in Cairo on Sunday to close the gap on group leaders Ivory Coast. After seven games and just three remaining, Egypt now have 13 points, three points behind Ivory Coast. The two countries face off in a huge battle in Abidjan on 19 June. Cameroon, which beat Benin, closed the gap on the Ivory Coast to just two points. Sudan remained bottom of the table with just two points, tied with Benin. Egypt had beaten Sudan 17 times in their 24 previous encounters -- losing just twice -- but never with such a lopsided score. But the score should have been no surprise seeing that Egypt won the first leg in Khartoum 3-0. The Pharaohs wanted nothing less in the home second leg. They were out for the three points and a hefty goal average. Two goals each from Abdel-Halim Ali and Amr Zaki helped the home side to its twin goal. Ali opened the scoring in the eighth minute and added another in the 31st. Zaki struck his brace in the 28th and 49th minutes. Tarek El-Sayed netted the fifth goal in the 62nd minute, and Ahmed Abdel- Malek, who replaced Zaki, completed the rout with a goal in the 69th minute. Only a goal by Haitham Tambal, with seven minutes remaining, spoilt the shutout. "Their performance was strong and coherent," Egypt's coach Hassan Shehata said. "Our passes built up threatening attacks. I think we were up to the responsibility given us. I believe in them, they believe in themselves and I think the fans will soon believe in them as well." Shehata felt good after helping Egypt close in on a third appearance in the world's top soccer show. "Beating two neighbouring countries [Sudan and Libya in March] is something great, but the coming matches are tougher and need power and determination," Shehata said. "Every game is a final per se. No time to relax. There is no other scenario for a WC ticket except by playing well, scoring a lot and winning all coming games." To prepare for the Ivory Coast Shehata is taking his team tomorrow to France for friendly games. Shehata took over the coaching job until 2006 after being named caretaker coach in March. He replaced Italian Marco Tardelli who was sacked last October following a string of poor results for the Pharaohs. The 55-year-old Shehata guided Egypt's under-20s to the 2003 African Youth Championship and then to the quarter-finals of the World Youth Championship later that year. The Ivory Coast's World Cup hopes took a knock on Friday as they could only manage a goalless draw away to Libya in Tripoli. The Elephants dominated the play but found it difficult to break down Libya's packed defence until the later stages of the game. When they did create chances, the Ivorians snatched at them. Didier Drogba twice came close, as did Siaka Tiene and Aruna Dindane. Cameroon took advantage of the Ivory Coast's slip-up as they beat Benin 4-1 in Cotonou on Saturday. The home side started well, dominating the early exchanges, but Cameroon took over and grabbed the opener in the 21st minute through a Rigobert Song header. Benin missed an opportunity to bring the game level as France-based Abou Maiga failed to convert a penalty after he was brought down by Cameroon goalkeeper Souleymanou Hamidou. Spain-based Achille Webo headed home the second goal of the game in the 52nd minute after capitalising on a mix- up in the Benin defence to put the Indomitable Lions in control. Midway through the second half, the visitors put the game beyond doubt as England- based Geremi Njitap scored the third goal from the inside the area. African Footballer of the Year, Samuel Eto'o, scored the fourth goal in the 68th after converting a penalty when substitute Jean Makoun was brought down in the area. Coffi Agbessi grabbed a consolation for the home side with two minutes remaining through a free-kick. The result almost certainly rules Benin out of even reaching the Nations Cup in Egypt next year. Group 1 Togo beat Zambia 4-1 in Lome to go top of Group One. The home side opened the scoring in the 15th minute through France-based striker Emmanuel 'Sheyi' Adebayor. But the visitors replied two minutes later with a strike from Gift Kampamba. Togo then took control of the game with goals from Cherif Toure just before half-time and a strike from Kader Coubadja midway through the second half. Adebayor put the game beyond doubt two minutes before time by converting a penalty. The Hawks' move to top spot was helped by Senegal's 0-0 draw in Congo. Senegal, who reached the World Cup quarter-finals two years ago, dropped into second place with the draw. Togo now lead the group with 16 points, two more than Senegal. Zambia are third with 13 points while Congo occupy the fourth position with seven points. In the other group match, Mali moved off the bottom of the table after beating Liberia 4-1 in Bamako. Dramane Coulibaly opened the scoring for Mali after converting a penalty after just five minutes when France-based Mahamadou Diarra was fouled in the area. Another Coulibaly strike in the second half doubled his country's lead. Souleymane Diamoutene gave Mali its third goal through a spot-kick after Diarra was fouled again in the goal area. Liberia pulled one back through Shelton Barlee in the 58th minute before Diarra put the match beyond doubt with a strike in the 75th minute. Mali are now in fifth position with five points while Liberia are bottom with four points. Group 2 DR Congo kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup by beating Uganda 4-0. The home side grabbed the opener in the 4th minute through France-based striker Shabani Nonda. The Congolese doubled their lead in the 62nd minute after midfielder Ngasanya Ilongo converted a free-kick. A Nonda penalty and a strike by substitute Matumuna Zola in the dying minutes of the game secured the match for the home side. The victory takes the DR Congo to 12 points, the same as Ghana who beat Burkina Faso 2-1 in Kumasi. The visitors drew first blood and scored through Beli Moumouni Dagano after Italy-based defender John Mensah failed to clear. The Blacks Stars pressed and got the equaliser in the 65th minute through captain Stephen Appiah who converted a spot-kick after Nigeria-based striker Joe Tex Frimpong was brought down in the goal area. The home side eventually grabbed the winner with eight minutes remaining after Matthew Amoah headed home from an Appiah cross. Meanwhile, South Africa moved closer to a third consecutive appearance at the World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Cape Verde Islands in a tense qualifier. Benni McCarthy and Delron Buckley scored within three minutes for Bafana Bafana in the first half. And they looked comfortable in the top-of-the-table Group Two clash until Arlindo 'Cafu' Semedo reduced the arrears 12 minutes from full-time. South Africa wasted a chance to put the result beyond doubt soon afterwards. Substitute defender Thabiso Rammile beat goalkeeper Jose Veiga only for his shot to fly across goal and wide. A third consecutive win in the pool leaves top seeds South Africa on 15 points. Cape Verde remain second on 10 points. Group 4 Nigeria were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw away to Rwanda. Italy-based striker Obafemi Martins scrambled a late equaliser to save Nigeria from a shock defeat as he beat the offside trap to slot home the goal with just 11 minutes left remaining. Rwanda looked on course for an upset when Jimmy Gatete put them ahead eight minutes into the second half, finishing superbly at the end of a mazy run through the Nigerian defence. Gatete had nearly opened the scoring just two minutes earlier when he sneaked in behind defender Obinna Nwaneri but lost control of the ball with only the goalkeeper to beat. Nigeria, playing without captain Jay- Jay Okocha and striker Yakubu Ayegbeni who failed to turn up for the match, looked lethargic and were hampered by the difficult pitch conditions. Captain Nwankwo Kanu was taken off just after the hour mark and Martins rarely received any service. Nigeria defender Joseph Yobo had an effort cleared off the line by Rwanda in the 72nd minute before Inter Milan's Martins grabbed the equaliser. Nigeria now share top spot on 14 points with Angola, who beat Algeria 2-1 in Luanda. The home side opened the scoring in the 48th minute through Amado Flavio. Fabrice Akwa doubled the lead of the home side as he headed home from a corner 10 minutes later. The visitors rallied and pulled one back when Nasreddine Kraouche slipped one past goalkeeper Joao Pereira. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe kept alive their hopes of a second Nations Cup appearance as they beat Gabon 1-0 in Harare. The only goal of the game came through a Peter Ndlovu penalty in the 62nd minute after Shingirai Kawondera was fouled in the area. The penalty was hotly disputed by Gabon's Brazilian coach Jairzinho who said the foul was outside the box. The crowd also had a warm welcome for Benjamin Mwaruwari who scored for Auxerre as they won the French Cup on Saturday. Zimbabwe now have 11 points from seven matches while Gabon remain on six points. Group 5 Guinea leapfrogged Kenya with a 1-0 victory in Conakry. Belgian-based Sambegou Bangoura scored the only goal as he converted a cross from Pascal Feindouno. Guinea played without three suspended regulars, including Scotland-based defender Dianbobo Balde, but still dominated proceedings, squandering several first- half opportunities. Bangoura had the best chance in the 34th minute but struck the ball straight at the Kenya goalkeeper. He made amends after the break to earn Guinea a valuable three points. The win puts Guinea on 11 points, the same as Tunisia but four behind leaders Morocco who beat Malawi 4-1 in Rabat. Essau Kanyenda gave Malawi the lead in the 11th minute but Youssef Safri levelled from the penalty spot four minutes later. Youssef Hadji then put Morocco ahead in the 21st minute and later added goals in the 72nd and 76th. The defeat leaves Malawi in last place with three points. Reigning African champions Tunisia beat their hosts Botswana 3-1 in Gaborone. Mogogi Gabonamong ignited the hopes of the home fans with a 10th- minute strike after the visiting defence failed to clear properly. The visitors rallied and got an equaliser 10 minutes later through England-based midfielder Mehdi Nafti. Brazilian-born Francileudo dos Santos gave Tunisia the lead just before half- time with a strike from outside the box. Midway through the second half, Al- Abdi Wissem connected with a Nafti free-kick to give the visitors their first away win of these qualifiers.
