The giants of African soccer demonstrated their strength in the first series of 2008 Nations Cup qualifiers this weekend.
Of the eight teams among the top 10 in action, defending champions Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Morocco and Togo won while Guinea and Tunisia featured in goalless draws.
Hosts Ghana qualify automatically for the biennial showpiece and Ivory Coast had a bye after the withdrawal of Djibouti from a competition in which 46 teams are challenging for 15 places at the finals.
PHOTO: AFP
Egyptian players wore black armbands in memory of defender Mohammed Abdelwahad, who died of a heart defect after collapsing last week while practising with African club champions Al-Ahly.
Abdelwahad, 23, helped the host country win the Nations Cup a record fifth time last February, pipping Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout.
The "Pharaohs" are 38 places above Burundi on the African rankings and the gap in class soon told with Germany-based striker Mohamed Zidan giving the title holders a sixth-minute lead in the Group 2 match.
Hosni Abd Rabou and midfield magician Mohammed Aboutraika added first-half goals and captain Ahmed Hassan converted a penalty eight minutes after the break before Musabah Suleimani reduced arrears from another spot kick.
Top-ranked Nigeria shook off the absence through injuries of leading striker Obafemi Martins and veteran midfielder "Jay-Jay" Okocha to overcome Niger 2-0 in a Group 3 encounter.
Yakubu Aiyegbeni, back after a lengthy absence triggered by a fallout with coach Augustine Eguavoen, put the "Super Eagles" ahead with 27 minutes gone in Abuja and Christian Obodo struck early in the second half.
Cameroon were impressive 3-0 victors in Rwanda through second-half goals from substitute Guy Feutchine, Geremi Njitap and debutant Landry Nguemo as Dutch coach Arie Haan got off to a dream start in Group 5.
Senegal, another country with a new coach, gave Pole Henri Kasperczak maximum points with a 2-0 triumph in Group 7 over Mozambique, who contributed to their downfall in Dakar when Fernando Matola conceded an own goal.
Morocco won by the same score at home to Malawi in Group 12 with Marouane Chamakh breaking the deadlock after 53 minutes in Rabat and Mbarek Boussoufa also on target for the "Atlas Lions."
Togo put their 2006 World Cup woes behind them at home to Benin, winning 2-1 in Lome with the only surprise being the failure of prolific marksman Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal to score.
World soccer governing body FIFA slapped a US$80,000 fine on the Togolese last month after a series of embarrassing incidents in Germany related to player bonuses.
Guinea were held in Conakry by Algeria, a good Group 8 result for the struggling north African "Desert Foxes," who failed to qualify for this year's Nations Cup.
Mauritius goalkeeper Orwin Castel saved a first-half penalty from Hamed Namouchi as depleted Tunisia had to settle for a point in a Group 4 match in Curepipe.
Angola comfortably dealt with Swaziland in Group 6 with 2006 World Cup defenders Joao "Jamba" Pereira and Manuel "Loco" Cange punishing sloppy defending after corners to score in Mbabane.
Eritrea, the lowest ranked team in the competition, caused a shock in the same pool by overcoming Kenya 2-1 in Nairobi where Yednekatchew Shimangus snatched the winner midway through the second half.
Another southern Africa side to impress were Zambia, who defeated Chad 2-0 in N'Djamena courtesy of early second-half goals from James Chamanga and Adubelo Phiri.
This result added to the misery of Group 11 rivals South Africa, who travel to Lusaka next month. Bafana Bafana ("The Boys") were held 0-0 by Congo in a dour Johannesburg struggle.
Democratic Republic of Congo came from behind to edge Namibia 3-2 in Kinshasa while an early Dawit Meberahtu goal gave Ethiopia a 1-0 win over Libya in the other Group 10 fixture.
The 12 group winners plus the best three second-placed teams qualify for the finals.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
RSS