Egypt came from a goal behind to beat DR Congo in their opening game of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Ahmed Morsy reports In the opening match of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup as well as the Africa Cup of Nations, in Group 12, African champions Egypt snatched the first three points in the World Cup qualifiers after beating DR Congo 2-1 in Cairo Stadium on Sunday. Herita Ilunga gave the Congolese side the lead just two minutes before half time by shooting a bullet 25- yard free kick. As a result, coach Hassan Shehata was forced to field all his attacking options regardless of the risk in order to at least equalise. In the second half, Shehata substituted Derby County midfielder Hossam Ghali for the talented Zamalek forward Shikabala to give the Egyptian attack more depth. In addition, Ahmed Eid Abdel-Malek was substituted for the unfruitful right-back Ahmed El-Mohamedi. In the 65th minute, the moves had paid off. Abdel-Malek chipped the ball in the box which Hani Said headed back in the path of Amr Zaki to volley in the net for the equaliser. An injury resulted in substituting the injured left back, Ismaili's Ahmed Samir Farag, for Enppi's uncapped Abdel-Aziz Tawfik who made a brilliant start by driving a long-range shot which was parried by the Congolese keeper into Abdel-Malek's path whose looping shot gave Egypt the lead for good. Haras Al-Hedoud's Abdel-Malek arched it neatly into the back of the net to give his side the lead in the 81st minute and the three points. In the group, Egypt are now in second place with three points, like Malawi which thrashed Djibouti at home 8-1. The Pharaohs travel to Djibouti tomorrow for the second round of the qualifiers. Egyptian coach Shehata commended the tactics of the Egyptian players in the second half. "I felt the danger after they squandered many easy chances in the first half. "Before scoring their first goal, I was concerned but in the second half they were fantastic and responsible." Shehata refused to describe the victory as coming late. "We are supposed to work hard throughout the match from start to finish and then winning will come at any time." In the same group, Malawi issued a warning to their Group 12 rivals as they overwhelmed Djibouti 8-1. Despite being only 2-1 up at half-time, the home side hammered their opposition's goal with six more goals after the break. In the next round, Malawi will travel to the DR Congo. Elsewhere, in Group 3, Angola savoured a 3-0 win over visitors Benin in Luanda on Sunday. Egyptian club Ahli's Angolan striker Amado Flavio struck the opening goal for Angola on the hour mark, paving the way to the win. As hosts of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Angola qualify automatically for the tournament but still need to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa in the same year. Also on Saturday in the other Group 3 game, Uganda beat Niger 1-0 in Kampala. A win for the Ivory Coast on Sunday gave them an early lead in Group 7. Even without their injured captain, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, Ivory Coast struggled to beat Mozambique 1-0 in Abidjan. In the other group match, Botswana and Madagascar battled out to a 0-0 draw in Gaborone on Saturday. In Group 4, Nigeria scored twice in the first half to beat South Africa 2-0 in Abuja on Sunday. Being hosts of the 2010 World Cup, South Africa qualify for the tournament automatically but still need to go through qualifying to reach the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. As for Sunday's other Group 4 game, Equatorial Guinea beat visiting Sierra Leone 2-0 in Malabo. Mali easily beat visiting Congo-Brazzaville 4-2 on Saturday in Group 10. The other Group 10 game between Sudan and Chad was postponed by football's world governing body FIFA after Sudan broke off diplomatic relations with Chad earlier this month following a rebel attack near the Sudanese capital Khartoum. FIFA is yet to decide the fate of the match and of the reverse fixture scheduled for September. In Group 5, Ghana had a comfortable 3-0 win over visiting Libya in Kumasi. The other group between Gabon and Lesotho in Libreville was postponed. The match was scheduled to be played on Saturday but the visiting Lesotho squad failed to arrive in Gabon. Lesotho were stuck in transit in South Africa after a strike by air traffic controllers in Gabon, which ended on Thursday, meaning they could not continue their onward journey. The Confederation of African Football will decide what to do next. CAF will either reschedule the game or decide that one team should forfeit the match. Senegal struggled to a 1-0 victory at home to Algeria in Dakar in Group 6 on Sunday to take the group lead. Liberia and Gambia ended 1-1 in tragic circumstances. At least eight football fans died in Monrovia of suffocation in the stadium. Burkina Faso surprisingly scored two late goals to shock their hosts Tunisia who were leading by a goal in Rades in Group 9 on Sunday. In the other group game, Burundi were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Seychelles. In Group 11, Togo beat Zambia 1-0 in Accra. The game was supposedly a home match for Togo but because of a four-match stadium ban owing to crowd violence after a Nations Cup qualifier against Mali last year, it was played in Accra. Swaziland are the other team in the group which was reduced to three teams due to Eritrea's withdrawal. In Group 8, Rwanda beat Mauritania 3-0 in Kigali and Morocco defeated 10-man Ethiopia 3-0 in Casablanca. Guinea were held to a 0-0 draw with Zimbabwe in Conakry and Namibia won Kenya 2-1 in Windhoek in Group 2. In Group 1, Cameroon took an early lead after a 2-0 win over Cape Verde while Mauritius drew 1-1 with Tanzania.
