Egypt and Algeria are headed for a nerve-wracking World Cup showdown, reports Ahmed Morsy Despite their below-par performance, six-time African champions Egypt produced a crucial 1- 0 victory at Zambia on Saturday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. A day later, Algeria beat Rwanda 3-1 in Algeria to set up a momentous face-off between the North African giants in Cairo on 14 November. Algeria have 13 points, three ahead of second-placed Egypt with one match remaining. They also boast a four-goal advantage over the Pharaohs. Hence, the last round encounter will be decisive. Goal difference can play a role in determining the group winner who will book a place in next year's South Africa finals. A three-goal margin of victory for Egypt will see them progress to the World Cup due to a better goal difference. If Egypt beat Algeria by a two-goal margin, either a draw or a play-off game will determine the group winners because they will become equal in goal difference, goals scored and head- to-head record. Algeria can win, draw or lose by a one-goal margin to ensure becoming one of Africa's representatives at the most important FIFA tournament. Egypt last played in a World Cup in 1990. In Zambia on Saturday, a thunderous shot from the Ahli Dubai midfielder Hosni Abd- Rabou, who was named the best player in Egypt's triumphant African Cup of Nations campaign last year, left Zambia keeper Kennedy Mweene with no chance in the 69th minute. The Pharaohs were far from convincing but secured the precious win thanks to the in-form goalkeeper Essam El-Hadari who denied Zambia several certain goals in the first half. The visitors struggled to move the ball around as the pitch's poor condition affected the rhythm of play. Egypt improved notably in the second half as they upped the tempo to lay siege to Zambia's area. The introduction of Enppi striker Ahmed Raouf, who replaced the ineffective right-back Mohamed Barakat on 58 minutes, also boosted Egypt's attack. Egypt's pressure paid dividends nine minutes past the hour mark when left-back Sayed Moawad laid off the ball for Abd-Rabou to fire an unstoppable right-footed shot into the top corner. It was Egypt's only shot of the entire game. Forward Ahmed Eid was then introduced instead of Zaki to help Egypt maintain possession and emerge winners. "Yes we defeated Zambia, but we will not turn a blind eye to our mistakes," Hassan Shehata told Egyptian radio after the game. "We were not at our best in the first half. The African champions should play much better." Egypt sometimes relied on long balls that did them no favours, with striker Zaki isolated up front. "The players can be somewhat excused because the pitch was really terrible and the weather was very hot," Shehata added. The 60-year-old said Egypt's players were kept on their toes following the World Cup elimination of the country's U-20 team. The young Egyptians failed to get beyond the round of 16 on home soil after losing 2-0 to Costa Rica in Cairo Stadium. "Egypt's U-20 defeat put further pressure on my team but thankfully we achieved our aim and won the game," Shehata said. At the same time, Mohamed Zidan was given the green light to return to Egypt's fold, Shehata said after the Zambia win. The Borussia Dortmund striker fell out of favour with Shehata after skipping a friendly game against Guinea in August. Zidan did not explain why he missed the match to further infuriate the highly-respected tactician, who, in retaliation, left him out of Egypt's squad for the World Cup qualifier against Zambia and previously against Rwanda. Zidan later apologised and was pardoned. "The player's apology is enough for us," Shehata stated. "We will consider including him in our plans for next month's qualifier against Algeria." Shehata said he would sit down with the Egyptian FA officials to discuss the possibility of delaying some Egyptian Premier League games ahead of the crucial encounter. "I'm just focusing now on how to prepare Egypt for this game. A league break is on the agenda," he added. Egypt captain Ahmed Hassan said the Pharaohs deserve a World Cup slot more than their Group C rivals. "The current selection of Egypt players have what it takes to reach the World Cup in terms of tenacity and skills," the Ahli ace told Egyptian radio. "The match with Zambia was a bumpy ride. The pressure evidently affected our performance but we eventually atoned for our mistakes and scored a win." Hassan said the Algerians would be terrified by the Egyptian fans' support in the anticipated meeting on 14 November. "They once said that their trip to Egypt will be joyful and full of entertainment, but I assure them that it won't," he said. "Cairo Stadium might accommodate only 80,000 spectators, but I would like to tell the Algerian players that 80 million Egyptians will be egging on their team. "The venue will turn into a stadium of horror." On Sunday, Algerians were stunned when Mafisango Mutesa fired Rwanda in front after 20 minutes but Abdelkader Ghezzal leveled the score just a few minutes later. Algeria were wrongly denied a second goal before the break when Antar Yahia's close-range effort, after a blunder from Ndayishimiye, looked to have crossed the line. However, the ball was controversially adjudged not to have crossed the line by the referee. Two-second half goals from Nadir Belhadj and Karim Ziani, who converted a penalty in the dying seconds, earned Algeria all three points but the Group C race will still go down to the wire.
