African champions Egypt recorded their second successive victory in the World Cup qualifiers after thrashing minnows Djibouti 4-0 on Friday. Despite the very high temperature, Egypt managed to tear Djibouti apart. Amr Zaki opened the scoring five minutes before the break and Hosni Abd-Rabou extended the gap shortly after the interval. Egypt captain Ahmed Hassan put the result beyond doubt before Ahmed Eid completed the rout five minutes past the hour mark. The result put the Pharaohs on top of Group 12 with six points from two matches, three ahead of second-placed Malawi, who face DR Congo on Sunday. Egypt coach Hassan Shehata was forced to make an early substitution after right-back Abdul-Aziz Tawfiq was injured, making way for Eid.
The visitors dominated possession in the early stages of the game but rarely tested Djibouti keeper. They were seemingly affected by the high temperature. Zaki continued his impressive goalscoring run to break the deadlock in the 40th minute. He rose above his marker to head Shikabala's left-wing cross into the back of the net. Egypt then opened the floodgates to condemn the hosts to a normal heavy defeat. Abd-Rabou, who is yet to learn whether he will play with Ismaili next season, doubled Egypt's advantage three minutes after restart when he converted a penalty. Skipper Hassan added the third six minutes later, but much of the credit goes to Eid, who scored the winner against DR Congo on Sunday. The Harras Al-Hodoud man penetrated down the right flank, sidestepped a defender and provided a low cross to Hassan for an easy tap-in. Eid turned from provider to scorer in the 65th minute when his low shot from the edge of the area found its way into the net.
