Front Page
Politics
Economy
International
Sports
Society
Culture
Videos
Newspapers
Ahram Online
Al-Ahram Weekly
Albawaba
Almasry Alyoum
Amwal Al Ghad
Arab News Agency
Bikya Masr
Daily News Egypt
FilGoal
The Egyptian Gazette
Youm7
Subject
Author
Region
f
t
مصرس
QatarEnergy acquires stake in 2 Egyptian offshore gas exploration blocks
Al-Sisi inaugurates restored Sayyida Zainab Mosque, reveals plan to develop historic mosques
Shell Egypt hosts discovery session for university students to fuel participation in Shell Eco-marathon 2025
Egypt targets 65% private sector contribution in investments – PM
Chad faces growing food insecurity crisis amidst multiple challenges, UN warns
Germany's Lilium, Swiss firm expand to France
UNICEF calls for increased child-focused climate investments in drought-stricken Zimbabwe
CBE sets new security protocols for ATM replenishment, money transport services
S. Korea plans $7.3b support package for chip industry – FinMin
WHO warns of foodborne disease risk in Kenya amidst flooding
Egyptian universities to adopt 'Fundamentals of FinTech' course in groundbreaking move
Egypt's CBE offers EGP 60b in T-bills on Sunday
SoftBank's Arm to develop AI chips by 2025
Hurghada ranks third in TripAdvisor's Nature Destinations – World
Elevated blood sugar levels at gestational diabetes onset may pose risks to mothers, infants
President Al-Sisi hosts leader of Indian Bohra community
China in advanced talks to join Digital Economy Partnership Agreement
Japanese Ambassador presents Certificate of Appreciation to renowned Opera singer Reda El-Wakil
Sweilam highlights Egypt's water needs, cooperation efforts during Baghdad Conference
AstraZeneca injects $50m in Egypt over four years
Egypt, AstraZeneca sign liver cancer MoU
Swiss freeze on Russian assets dwindles to $6.36b in '23
Climate change risks 70% of global workforce – ILO
Prime Minister Madbouly reviews cooperation with South Sudan
Egypt retains top spot in CFA's MENA Research Challenge
Egyptian public, private sectors off on Apr 25 marking Sinai Liberation
Debt swaps could unlock $100b for climate action
President Al-Sisi embarks on new term with pledge for prosperity, democratic evolution
Amal Al Ghad Magazine congratulates President Sisi on new office term
Egyptian, Japanese Judo communities celebrate new coach at Tokyo's Embassy in Cairo
Uppingham Cairo and Rafa Nadal Academy Unite to Elevate Sports Education in Egypt with the Introduction of the "Rafa Nadal Tennis Program"
Financial literacy becomes extremely important – EGX official
Euro area annual inflation up to 2.9% – Eurostat
BYD، Brazil's Sigma Lithium JV likely
UNESCO celebrates World Arabic Language Day
Motaz Azaiza mural in Manchester tribute to Palestinian journalists
Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban
It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game
Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights
Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines
Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19
Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers
Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled
We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga
Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June
Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds
Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go
Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform
Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.
OK
Fine defence but little else
Nashwa Abdel Tawab
Published in
Al-Ahram Weekly
on 24 - 01 - 2002
Egypt was close to taking a point from its opening match in the ANC championship but, as Nashwa Abdel-Tawab reports,
Senegal
pulled the rug out
Egypt
was headed for what looked like a draw in the opening match in the African Nations Cup (ANC) in
Mali
but an opportune header eight minutes from time gave
Senegal
a late victory.
The first clash in the so-called Group of Death was billed as a showdown between two star attackers,
Senegal
's Al- Hadji 'Serial Killer' Diouf and Khaled Bebo but the game was defence- dominated almost throughout, leaving both forwards little opportunity to show off their attacking skills.
With time running out, Essam El- Hadari punched away the fifth
Senegalese
corner of a bruising game, and Lamine Diatta delicately headed the ball back over the goalkeeper and several defenders into the net.
Diouf, from French club Lens, wasted a glorious chance in the closing stages when his shot from inside the penalty area was blocked by El-Hadari after he had broken clear.
The win was greeted with a mixture of delight and relief by
Senegal
's French coach, Bruno Metsu, who has attained hero status since successfully guiding the 'Lions of Teranga' to this year's World Cup.
"It was an extremely difficult victory against a very good
Egypt
side," Metsu said. "Winning the first match in our group is very important. It takes a bit of the pressure off in the remaining games."
"They made it almost impossible for us with their defence," Metsu said admiringly. "They were so hard to break down."
Egypt
captain Hani Ramzi was distraught at the loss and admitted the Pharaohs' Nations Cup hopes were now hanging in the balance. "It was very disappointing to concede a goal from a corner at that late stage after we had defended and played so well," he said. "We've made it harder for ourselves now. We've got a good chance to go through but we can't afford any more mistakes," the Kaiserslautern libero added.
Despite the loss,
Egypt
could take pride in its stalwart defence which was missing stopper Ibrahim Said. Said was dismissed from the team on the eve of the match after he refused to stay in the same hotel as the squad. The controversial Ahli star also refused to lace up against
Senegal
.
Egypt
will meet
Tunisia
tomorrow in the second encounter of the tournament for both sides. "It's the most difficult game," said
Egypt
coach Mahmoud El- Gohari, "since there is always tension between the two."
Cameroon
kicked off the defence of its African Nations Cup crown with a solid victory over DR
Congo
.
Cameroon
, aiming to become the first side since
Ghana
37 years ago to successfully retain the African title, took all three points off the
Congolese
in Group C, thanks to a wonder goal from
Italy
- based striker Patrick Mboma.
Picking up a short pass midway inside the DR
Congo
half, the Parma player sprinted across the field, watched by four seemingly mesmerised defenders before unleashing a thunderbolt. Goalkeeper Nkombe Tokala never stood a chance as the ball flew over him into the roof of the net to the delight of a large
Cameroon
following in Sikasso's 15,000-seat stadium.
While
Senegal
and
Cameroon
got off the mark smoothly, South Africa's tournament began with a wobble which took the form of a 0-0 draw against
Burkina Faso
in Segou.
Burkina coach Jacques Yameogo said on the eve of the Group B match that his players would fight like warriors and they did, rattling Bafana Bafana (The Boys) into numerous unforced errors.
The Stallions could even have won on a warm evening with Moumouni Dagano spurning a chance in each half against opponents who lost captain and crack striker Shaun Bartlett with a foot injury early in the first half. Dagano burst clear late in the opening half but his pass to unmarked Omar Barro was poor and a golden opportunity was lost to rock the team ranked second in Africa behind
Tunisia
.
Burkina Faso
was thought to be the weakest of South Africa's first-round opponents.
South Africa's under-fire coach, Carlos Queiroz, said afterwards that the draw was a fair reflection of the game but at the same time his team faced "physical intimidation." "I'm not disappointed. The draw was a fair result. We lost a player and it was very difficult to play our skilful football. We faced a lot of physical intimidation but my players never quit. We always tried to play, unfortunately we failed to score. That was my disappointment," Queiroz said. "If this is the way all our matches will be, we will end the tournament without most of our first team."
Recommend this page
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
Send a letter to the Editor
Clic
here
to read the story from its source.
Related stories
Nothing to write home about
On his shoulders, a load of expectations
Team for a change
Thrash thy neighbour
Ready or not
Report inappropriate advertisement