Egypt threw away an opportunity to make headway in qualifiers for the World Cup. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab reports on an early setback The Ivory Coast took three precious points from Egypt on their way to a 2-1 away win in an African qualifier for the 2006 World Cup. Aruna Dindane struck first in the 15th minute and Didier Drogba added the other in the 75th. Mohamed Abu-Treika had briefly equalised for Egypt in the 55th. The Ivory Coast now top Group Three with the maximum six points after two matches. Cameroon have four and Egypt three. Benin, Libya and Sudan have a point each. In Alexandria on Sunday, Dindane and Drogba, Marseille's leading scorer, were the heroes for the Ivory Coast once again. Both players also scored against Libya two weeks ago. Egyptian supporters in the northern coastal city tried heartily to get the team going but the Pharaohs were not in form. They hit the woodwork twice while the Elephants made the most of the few chances that came their way. The loss offset Egypt's 3-0 win in Sudan in the first game of the qualifiers. Only five African group winners will qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany. Watching the game from the stands was Cameroon's German coach Winfred Scheiffer. In the same group, Libya held Cameroon to a surprising goalless draw in Misrat on Friday. The Indomitable Lions dominated for most of the match but were unable to find a way past the Libyan goalkeeper Al-Emmami. The Libyans were also helped by the visitors' inability to hit the target as Samuel Eto'o Fils, Geremi and Modeste Mbami all wasted chances. Tarek Al-Taib was Libya's best player of the night and troubled the Cameroon defence on several occasions. His best chance came following a mix up between the Cameroon's keeper Idriss Kameni and his captain Rigobert Song but Taib missed the target. In Cotonou, Benin, Ahmed Al-Fatih equalised in the 45th minute as Sudan held the hosts to a 1- 1 draw. Muritala Ogunbiyi scored for Benin in the 30th. In the next fixtures, on 4 July, Egypt will meet Benin, Ivory Coast will play Cameroon and Sudan meet Libya. Senegal, Nigeria, Tunisia and South Africa all suffered surprise upsets away in other African World Cup qualifiers. Senegal, which reached the quarter-finals at the 2002 World Cup finals, lost to Togo 3-1. In Lome, Adebayo Sheyi scored for Togo while Bouba Diop managed to get one back for Senegal in the 85th minute. Sheyi scored the first goal for Togo in the fourth minute, and Senaya Junior added two more in the 35th and 87th. In Luanda, Akwa scored the only goal of the match in the 77th minute as Angola upset Nigeria 1-0. Nigeria have reached the last three World Cup finals and advanced to the second round twice. In Conakry, Guinea, Kaba Diawara scored two goals as Guinea upset African Cup of Nations champion Tunisia 2-1. Diawara opened the scoring in the 12th minute and then added another in the 46th. Najah Braham got one back for Tunisia in the 55th. Ghana, Congo and DR Congo also won their matches, while Zimbabwe and Algeria drew 1-1. In Kumasi, Stephen Appiah scored two goals as Ghana blanked South Africa 3-0. The Juventus midfielder scored both goals in the second half, putting the game out of reach after an early goal from Sule Muntari. It was Ghana's first victory over South Africa in six attempts and the heaviest loss suffered by Bafana Bafana in a World Cup qualifier since making their debut in the competition 12 years ago. With Cape Verde Islands pipping Uganda 1-0 and the DR Congo edging out Burkina Faso 3-2 in other Group Two matches, all six teams have three points each. Ghana lead on goal difference while South Africa plunged to the bottom of the table. In Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, Michel Claude Bouanga, Armel Mamouna and Gervais Batota scored a goal each as the Republic of Congo easily beat Liberia 3-0. Liberia, once an African power with George Weah leading the team, have been decimated by the country's civil war. Zambia held Mali to a surprising 1-1 draw while Rwanda and Botswana won. Mali, which lost to Liberia 1-0 two weeks ago, will need to improve considerably to have any hopes of reaching the World Cup finals. The 2002 and 2004 African Cup of Nations semi-finalist are in the same group as Senegal. In Harare, Suleiman Rado scored an own goal in the 73rd minute to give Zimbabwe a 1-1 draw with Algeria. Abdul-Malek Cherrad scored the first goal for Algeria.
