Vital victory

A narrow win against Senegal pushed Egypt closer to the World Cup. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab reports on what was a do-or-die affair
By the skin of its teeth, Egypt scraped by Senegal 1-0 in a crucial qualifier which kept it on track for an appearance in next year's World Cup.
Belgium-based striker Ahmed Hossam was the overnight hero after scoring the only goal in Cairo on Sunday. Hossam, who plays for La Gantoise, rose high in the box, unchallenged, to rifle a header after 48 minutes to allow the Pharaohs to tie on nine points with Senegal in Group C, nicknamed the 'Group of Death'. Senegal is second on goal difference. Morocco is in first place with 12 points but has played one more game than Egypt.
After the final whistle by Nigerian referee Lucien Bouchardeau, the 80,000 at Cairo Stadium collectively exhaled a sigh of relief. Senegal missed several opportunities from close range that had beaten goalkeeper Nader El-Sayed, but were denied by a phalanx of Egyptian defenders massing on the goalline.
The Senegalese Lions were without captain Aliou Cisse who picked up a second yellow card. But Egypt was also without the services of its own superstar and the world's most capped player, the injured Hossam Hassan. "We suffered a big blow after Hassan pulled out," said Egypt's coach Mahmoud El-Gohari. "But we managed to win despite the performance. The players were afraid and the pressure on them was tremendous. It was a do-or-die affair for them." The Pharaohs reached the finals in 1934 and 1990.
The win threw the group wide open and all three sides could either see their hopes dashed by no-hopers Namibia and Algeria, which hosts Egypt at the end of June. Senegal will travel to Namibia the same weekend.
Morocco have two matches remaining. The Atlas Lions will play Egypt in Rabat and a potential decider with Senegal in Dakar. Egypt has three matches ahead -- Morocco in Rabat, Namibia at home and Algeria in Algiers.
On Friday, the Moroccans defeated Algeria 2-1 in Algiers after coming from a goal down. Abdel-Hafid Tasfaout had put Algeria ahead with a superb strike in the ninth minute after he latched on to a cross in an open Moroccan defence. In the 17th minute, Rachid Ben Mahmoud equalised for the visiting Atlas Lions with a close range effort after the Algerian defence cleared poorly. Gharib Amzine scored what turned out to be the winner three minutes after the interval with a looping volley that dropped into the net.
Algeria had invited 12 foreign-based players to revive their campaign, but with four points and just two matches to go before the end of the qualifiers, the Desert Warriors are out of the race. Also eliminated is Namibia.
In Group A, the majestic march of Cameroon toward the 2002 World Cup finals came to a grinding halt when it lost 2-0 in Angola. Fabrice 'Akwa' Maeico put the Angolan Black Panthers ahead after 59 minutes at the Citadela Stadium in the Atlantic city of Luanda and Joaquim 'Quinzinho' da Silva added a second 10 minutes later.
Cameroon entered the match after winning five consecutive matches without conceding a goal and a draw was all it needed to become the first qualifiers for the finals in Japan and South Korea.
But a young Angolan mix of local and foreign-based players recovered from a hesitant start to take control against opponents lacking African Footballer of the Year Patrick Mboma.
The ace striker, second highest scorer in the qualifying competition with six goals, was needed by Italian Serie A club Parma and France-based midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe was left out for the same reason.
It was sweet revenge for Angola after a 3-0 first-round mauling by the Indomitable Lions in Yaounde last July, although it is unlikely to prevent Cameroon reaching its fourth finals in a row. Victory at home against Togo on 1 July will put the star-laced Central African squad beyond the reach of Angola as only the five group winners progress to the World Cup, the first co-hosted tournament.
Not that West African minnows Togo will be a pushover. It displayed fighting spirit to come from behind twice and snatch a dramatic 3-2 win against Zambia in Lome. Elijah Tana and January Zyambo put the Zambian Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets) ahead early in each half only for Komlan Assignon and Franck Dote to equalise and Eric Akoto grabbed the 85th-minute winner.
In Group B, Nigeria beat first-place Liberia 2-0 behind Nwankwo Kanu's early goal to keep its qualifying hopes alive. In Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Kanu scored in the 12th minute and Victori Agali added a goal in the 61st off a cross from Finidi George. Liberia, led by George Weah, leads Group B with 12 points, two ahead of Nigeria and three ahead of Sudan.
It was the first match for Nigeria's new caretaker coach, Amodu Shuaibu, who was assistant to the sacked Dutch technical adviser, Johannes Bonfrere.
Nigeria, which reached the second round in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, has games left at Sudan and at home against Ghana. Liberia is home against Ghana and will play in Sierra Leone.
In Freetown, Ghana gained a 1-1 tie in Sierra Leone. Kwame Ayew scored for Ghana in the 36th, but Alphajor Bah tied it with a penalty kick in the 85th.
In a Group D clash, Tunisia went three points clear after overcoming Madagascar 2-0 in Antananarivo. Congo drew with the Congo Democratic Republic 1-1 in Brazzaville. Congo DR lies three points behind Cote d'Ivoire, but still has a remote chance to qualify. The pressure is now on Cote d'Ivoire, which did not play last weekend, to catch up. The next game for the West Africans, in a group that has been plagued by postponements, looks like being against Tunisia, in what could be the decider.
In Group E, South Africa beat visiting Zimbabwe 2-1 to move within one point of qualifying. South Africa got goals from Shaun Bartlett in the 17th minute and Benni McCarthy in the 39th. Peter Ndlovu scored for Zimbabwe in the 53rd. South Africa has a six-point lead over Zimbabwe and needs only a tie in one of its final two games to reach their second successive World Cup finals. Burkina Faso and Malawi have been eliminated.
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