After breezing through its group with room to spare, Egypt enters the crucial knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations. Abeer Anwar reports Regardless of the result of Egypt's third and final group match against Benin, the title holders have reached the quarter-finals of the ongoing Orange Africa Cup of Nations after a 2-0 victory over Mozambique in their Group C encounter in Angola. Egypt's quarter-final opponent will be known tonight 21 January after Group D ends play. The two top spots in Group D are up for grabs. After two games and one game remaining, Gabon top the group with four points, followed by Cameroon with three, Tunisia two and Zambia one point. Tonight, Cameroon clash with Tunisia while Gabon meets Zambia. Egypt was scheduled to kick-off against Benin on Wednesday night 20 January as the newspaper went to press. Egypt will hope to finish first in its group, ahead of Nigeria, if it wants to play the second-place finisher of Group D. Egypt's quarter-final match will be played on Monday 25 January. The game against Mozambique was not easy as some had predicted considering the vast difference in experience between the Pharaohs and Mambas. On the contrary, Mozambique's players had the upper hand all through the first half but all attempts at the Egyptian net were futile. Mozambican defender Dario Khan then shot himself in the foot when he shot the ball in his team's net to score Egypt's first goal on the 47th minute, diverting Ahmed Fathi's hard low cross from the right. It was the second time in succession that the 25-year old had gifted the opposing side a goal at the championship after a similar incident during the opening match against the Squirrels of Benin which ended 2-2. In the second half, Egypt reorganised its defense and attack lines following substitutions made by coach Hassan Shehata. Egypt's second goal came nine minutes from time following a super shot by reserve Mohamed Nagi 'Geddo' which was enough to land the Pharaohs a place in the last eight, joining Cote d'Ivoire with a game in hand. The victory also set a new ACN record of 14 consecutive matches without a loss, breaking the record held by Cameroon. Egypt's feat began on 20 January 2006 with a 3-0 victory against Libya in Cairo in the 2006 ACN. In total, the Egyptians were victors on 10 occasions with three draws. Overall, they scored 29 goals and conceded nine. "We are very proud of this record but most importantly, we won today against a very strong Mozambique side," captain Ahmed Hassan said. Shehata explained, "For me what is important is not winning but the ability to continue and go on in the competition. Continuity is more important." Egypt's defender Wa'el Gomaa added, "It was a difficult match and so it's good we qualified to the next stage. I think it's now time for players who have featured in the two games to rest. I believe it's time to give an opportunity to members of the team who haven't tasted action yet." Quoted by CAF online, Mart Nooij , Mozambique coach, said, "We made it very hard for Egypt, who are the reigning African champions. We gave away a goal early in the second half and so had to chase the game; otherwise it would have been a lot more difficult for the Pharaohs." Egypt striker Mohamed Zidan saved himself the chop in Angola after he apologised to the team over his behaviour when he was replaced in the second half of the match against Mozambique. "Zidan has apologised and the whole episode is now behind us," said team coach Shehata. "He said he was not angry with the team, but with himself because he really wanted to do more." The Borussia Dortmund striker was in danger of being dropped had he failed to apologise for his angry reaction after he was substituted in the Nations Cup Group C match against Mozambique on Saturday night. Zidan refused to shake hands with his replacement, threw away his wrist band and then kicked at the subs' bench in anger over his substitution. Last year, the striker had a face-off with Shehata after he stayed away from an international friendly against Guinea in Cairo and was subsequently banned as well as fined. However, he was recalled to the Pharaohs in time for the all-important World Cup qualifiers against Algeria in November and the subsequent play-off in Sudan. Meanwhile, Mali and Malawi crashed out of the tournament after a 3-1 victory for the West Africans in their final Group A encounter in Cabinda on Monday. Group A was the first group to end its proceedings. It was a thrilling battle between the two sides, but it would ultimately end in disappointment for both as Angola and Algeria engineered a 0-0 draw in Luanda to ensure both those side went through to the quarter-finals. Angola finish the group on top with five points, and while Mali and Algeria were level on four points, with the Malians having the better goal-difference, team position was decided on head-to-head between the two teams and Algeria's 1-0 win over Stephen Keshi's side in their second pool match kept them in second. Malawi finished fourth with three points, but had some excellent chances to earn a point in this game, which would have elevated it into second, above Algeria on head-to-head. The Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire were the first team to reach the quarter-finals with a 3-1 triumph over Ghana in Group B on Friday in Cabinda. It was a polished performance by the Elephants, who were reduced to 10 men on 56 minutes when Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue was red carded for a vicious tackle from behind on Opoku Agyemang with his team one goal ahead. Victory lifted the title favourites to four points from two matches. Lille forward Kouassi 'Gervinho' Yao put Cote d'Ivoire ahead midway through the first half at the new, 20,000-seat Chiazi Stadium. Siaka Tiene scored direct from a free-kick after 67 minutes and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba completed the victory in the final minute. Ghana got a stoppage-time consolation goal via an Asamoah Gyan penalty after he had been fouled by Souleman Bamba. In a round up of games played earlier in the week, Cameroon rallied to win in stunning fashion in a five-goal thriller to beat Zambia 3-2 at Tundavala National Stadium in Lubango. The four-time African champions shrugged off a poor start after losing 1-0 to Gabon in their opening Group D match at the same venue. Zambia took the lead in the 8th minute through striker Jacob Mulenga who scored his second successive goal of the tournament. Zambia continued to dominate led by Rainford Kalaba who in the 18th minute bared down on Cameroon's goal but was stopped on the edge of the area by Julio Nkoulou. The match then descended into a scrappy affair though Cameroon did have a couple of good chances in the midst of chasing Zambia. The game changed complexion with Cameroon baring down on Zambia's goal led by 46th minute substitute Mohamadou Idrissou and Eto'o. On 58 minutes, Cameroon had what they thought was the equaliser but referee Ibrahim Alghamdi ruled Iddrissou's header from an Eto'o free kick offside. Then Cameroon were rewarded for the enterprising play with an equaliser in the 68th minute courtesy of a speculative shot from Geremi Njitap who let loose from the edge of the right wing that Mweene poorly judged, fumbling with the ball in the process before it bounced across the goal line to make it 1-1. Eto'o then put Cameroon in the lead in the 71st minute, turning Zambian defender Stoppila Sunzu to crush in the ball after some good work on the right wing from Somen Tchoyi. Just as it looked like Cameroon were coasting to an important win, Kameni conceded a penalty after a two-footed tackle on Mulenga who had just outpaced Rigobert Song. Christopher Katongo stepped up to take the penalty equaliser to restore parity in the 82nd minute, sending Kameni diving the wrong way to the left. However, the match was not over and Idrissou was rewarded for his hard work, rising unchallenged to head the ball in after benefitting from a long-range cross from the right supplied by Geremi. Gabon and Tunisia played to a goalless draw in Lubango. Nigeria's Super Eagles grabbed their maiden win in Angola courtesy of a lone goal victory over at the Ombaka National Stadium in Benguela. Nigerian striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni scored the only goal of the match against Benin three minutes to half time from the spot for the twice champions. After a disappointing 3-1 loss to holders Egypt in their opening match, the victory also served as a booster for the continued stay at the helm of coach Shuaibu Amodu who has come under severe criticism despite guiding the team to the 2010 World Cup.
