Egyptian soccer could be going to the London Olympics, Inas Mazhar reports The Egyptian Olympic team beat Sudan 2-0 to qualify for the group stage of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Both goals came in the second half after a lacklustre first half. Ahmed Sherweda opened the scoring for the home team in the 58th minute, grabbing the chance from a rebound from the Sudanese goalkeeper Mounir Al-Khair. Shehab Ahmed then netted the second goal in the 70th minute to confirm the qualification of the young Pharaohs. The boys of Hani Ramzi made it through after a scoreless draw in the first-leg fixture in Khartoum two weeks ago. It was a much needed victory for Egyptian football these days. The past weeks have been gloomy with the senior national team failing to make it to the finals of the African Nations Cup for the first time in 33 years, and hooliganism that has invaded pitches in the national league. With the victory, Egypt might have a chance to make it to the Olympic Games in London next summer. The last time Egypt football made an appearance at an Olympic tournament was at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. The final round of the qualifying series will feature eight teams of two groups. The group winners automatically qualify for the tournament with runners-up engaging each other for the third spot. The loser of the playoff will face a team from Asia for the final spot. The Sudan qualifier was held at the Border Guards Stadium, on the outskirts of Alexandria. It was scheduled to be held at Alexandria Stadium but a spectator spillover in a national league match between the home team Ittihad of Alexandria and Wadi Degla left the stadium damaged. Egypt intends to bid to host this group-stage tournament but the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has insisted that the EFA should present a letter of guarantee from the Egyptian government and the Ministry of Interior in order to ensure the tournament is secured. Normally, CAF would not ask for such a document, but after recent riots in Egyptian stadiums, it made it a necessity. In other groups, Gabon clinched a vital ticket for the 2012 Olympic games following an away defeat of Mali in Bamako. At the end of the second leg qualifier at the Modibo Kéita stadium in Bamako, the Olympic Panthers qualified thanks to a last minute push. According to cafonline, the team will be hoping to make a big impact in the competition in the year that they will alongside Equatorial Guinea host the Orange African Cup of Nations, the first in the country's history. The lone goal came with six minutes left. As the two sides were preparing to go for post match penalties, N'Dong unleashed a deadly kick that beat Mali goalkeeper Adama Keita. In addition to Egypt's victory, North Africa were the biggest winners in the rest of the qualification matches held over the weekend. Algeria and Morocco booked their places for the next round of the continental qualifiers in no easy situations. The Fennecs, who participated once in the Olympic Games in 1980 in Moscow, suffered a 2-0 loss to Zambia in Chingola but managed to progress 3-2 on aggregate. Venicious Mapanda and Deriick Mwanza were on target for the Chipolopolos in each half. Elsewhere in Kinshasa, Morocco put up a spirited display to snatch a 1-1 draw at the expense of hosts DR Congo. Striker Abderazak Hamdallah equalised for the Moroccans three minutes from time after TP Mazembe winger Deo Kanda had shot the Congolese into the lead earlier. Morocco advanced 3-2 on aggregate. However, it was bad news for fellows Tunisia who lost 1-0 to Senegal in Dakar, allowing the latter to progress by the same result after two legs and penalties. The Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire trampled over their counterparts from the Congo with a double. ASEC Mimosas striker Jean-Jacques Bougouhi scored the only goal of the match as the Ivorians went on 3-1 on aggregate. The Ivorians remain the only team with back-to-back victories over their opponents at this stage. South Africa's Amaglug-glug recorded the biggest win, 5-1 over Benin, capitalising on series of blunders by Benin goalie Wassiou Salami. Salami was replaced by Bilao Tra at half time but the harm had already been done allowing the South Africans to progress 6-4 on aggregate. In Benin, Nigeria's Olympic team ended the hopes of their Tanzanian counterparts after beating them 3-0 at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium. Warri Wolves striker Ekigho Ehiosun, Ganiu Oseni and Ahmed Musa were on target for the Nigerians. The Nigerians eased into the final round of the qualifying series 3-1 on aggregate despite suffering a lone goal loss in the reverse fixture in Dar es Salaam a fortnight ago.
