Substitute Abdul-Halim Ali scored twice as Egypt beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in a friendly on Thursday. The Zamalek striker buried the opener home in the 32nd minute before he sealed the victory with a lucky solo effort after the break. Egypt are to play two more friendlies against Nigeria and South Africa in preparation for the African Cup of Nations that kicks-off on January 20th. Ali went onto the pitch as a substitute early in the first-half replacing Amr Zaki who sustained a head injury after colliding with a Zimbabwe defender.
Zaki left the pitch with a head injury. Enppi striker Zaki received seven stitches and he will be able to stay with the Egyptian squad. In the 32nd minute, Ali latched on to a deft through pass from Mohamed Abou-Treika and fired a low first-timer into the far post to break the deadlock. Emad Meteb and Abou-Treaka failed to stretch the lead on more than one occasion before the end of the first period. Meteb failed to deliver from the spot in the begining of the second-half when he pinned a penalty-kick against the crossbar. Ali put Egypt two up in the 77th minute when he nipped in between the visitors' defenders and guided a left-footer that took deflection and eluded the goalkeeper and went into the back of the net.
