Emad Meteb scored twice to break his goalscoring duck and lead Egypt to a 2-0 home victory over Malawi in the World Cup qualifiers on Sunday. The Ahli frontman, whose last goal for Egypt was in January, scored either side of the interval to help the Pharaohs claim a much-needed win. Egypt now share Group 12 lead with DR Congo on nine points, three ahead of Malawi. Egyptian Domination The African champions got their first sight of goal after eight minutes when Hosni Abd-Rabou's curling free kick went just wide of the post. Malawi almost stunned the home crowd just three minutes later, but they were denied by a superb reflex save from the in-form Essam Al-Hadari. A left-wing corner found the unmarked Hellings Mwakasungula, whose header was blocked by Al-Hadari from point-blank range. Natural sweeper Hani Saied, who was given an advanced role, orchestrated Egypt's opener in the 17th minute. He stormed through the midfield, sidestepped two challengers before feeding Meteb. The Ahli striker sent a low shot that bounced off the ground and went past Malawi keeper Swadic Sanudi.
Egypt coach Hassan Shehata had to make an early substitution after Hossam Ghaly sustained an injury. He was replaced by Ahmed Al-Muhammadi, who switched to the right while skipper Ahmed Hassan reclaimed his place in the heart of midfield. In his favorite position, Hassan beat the offside trap with a brilliant long ball that went into the path of Shikabala in the 34th minute. The Zamalek winger jinked into the area, cut inside his marker and tried his luck but his shot with the outside of his left foot narrowly missed the target. Lead Doubled Meteb got on the scoresheet once again to double Egypt's lead in the 50th minute. Shikabala flicked Al-Muhammadi's chip into the path of Meteb, whose looping header flew past the badly-positioned Sanudi. A Mahmoud Fathallah blunder eight minutes past the hour mark almost gave Malawi a lifeline. His mis-timed tackle allowed Fisher Kondowe to ghost behind him in the six-yard box but the Malawian defender's low shot missed the target. Amr Zaki could have added the third for Egypt in the 78th minute but his free header from inside the area went over the bar.
