Holders Egypt clinch group and set record

Luanda

Group C result
Egypt 2-0 Mozambique

Ten-man Ivory Coast beat fellow World Cup qualifiers Ghana 3-1 at the African Nations Cup on Friday as the tournament was plagued by familiar accusations of favouritism for the host nation.

Holders Egypt secured top spot in African Nations Cup Group C with a 2-0 win over Mozambique on Saturday and set a tournament record. An own goal by defender Dario Khan, his second at the finals, and a left-foot volley from substitute Mohamed Nagui put Egypt in the quarter-finals.

The defending champions also created a Nations Cup finals record of 15 unbeaten matches stretching back to 2004, beating the previous mark set by Cameroon between 1984-88.

Khan knocked the ball past his own goalkeeper, as he did against Benin last Tuesday, in a mix-up after fellow defender Mexer missed a cross by Ahmed Fathi. The 46th minute own-goal came after Mozambique had soaked up relentless first-half pressure.

Nagui made it 2-0 with a stunning volley from just inside the penalty area in the 80th minute, initially failing to control a pass with his right foot but swivelling to thump the loose ball into the net. “The result allows us to maybe give some other players a chance in the next match,” Egypt assistant coach Shawki Gharib told reporters.

The holders next meet Benin in Benguela on Wednesday. With one game left to go in the group, Egypt’s six-point haul can only be matched by Nigeria. If the two teams finish on the same points Egypt will be top because of their 3-1 win over Nigeria last Tuesday.

Confident Nigeria
Meanwhile Nigeria are confident they could win their first African Nations Cup in more than a decade despite suffering a crisis of confidence.

World Cup-bound Nigeria were thrashed 3-1 in their opening match against African champions Egypt and were lucky to scrape to a 1-0 win over unfancied Benin thanks to a penalty. But Nigeria are now ready to live up to their billing as one of the front runners for the title.

“Having lost to Egypt we had to expect there was a crisis of confidence in our camp and we had to be careful in our game against Benin. Even when we were up against them, we were not confident but at least we got our points,” coach Shaibu Amodu told reporters. Striker Peter Odemwingie pointed out that Nigeria had a habit of starting slowly.

Source--Reuters