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Sports Reporter/Fifa.com
THE Warriors overcame their nightmarish preparations to lose with a respectable scoreline in Conakry against Guinea last night as Egypt topped the World Cup qualifying group. Something like a netball scoreline had been expected after the team travelled with nine outfield players and two goalkeepers. Zifa struggled to get seats that would have enabled the Zimbabwean contingent to travel as one unit leaving the national association to propose 12 players, coach Klaus Dieter-Pagels and physiotherapist Farai Muguwu to make the trip.
Hardlife Zvirekwi lost his passport in Kenya which left the coach with Washington Arubi to play as an in field player in a match Guinea had to win to keep their hopes of qualifying for the final stage of the 2014 Brazil World Cup alive. Their prospects depended on Mozambique beating Egypt in Maputo.
But that was not to be the case as the North Africans won 1-0 to take their tally to 15 while Guinea are on 10 points and with one round of matches to go they cannot reach 15 points to claim the group title.
Washington Arubi was yesterday set to be played as an in field player with Max Nyamupanedengu set to guard the goal posts.
The West Africans led 1-0 at halftime before adding the second goal late into the match but their cause counted for nothing as Mohamed Salah, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Saturday, made it a weekend to remember by scoring the only goal five minutes before half-time in Mozambique.
The win put the Pharaohs five points clear of Guinea at the top of Group G.
Their progress comes despite Egypt having a year without league football following a stadium disaster in 2012.
After the Port Stadium tragedy in February of that year, where over 70 Al Ahly fans died, Egyptian authorities barred all domestic football for security reasons – with the league only resuming in February 2013.
Egypt coach Bob Bradley is intent on qualifying the Pharaohs for the World Cup despite all the problems, with the North Africans desperate to appear on world football’s biggest stage for only the third time.
Despite dominating the African game in recent years, winning the Nations Cup in 1998 and on three occasions between 2006 and 2010, Egypt have failed to qualify for the World Cup since 1990.
Their attempts to represent the continent at its first World Cup in 2010 failed in unforgettable circumstances when beaten in a dramatic play-off by bitter North African rivals Algeria.
Salah, who scored Sunday’s vital against the Mambas, has been instrumental in Egypt’s World Cup qualifying campaign, with the FC Basel winger scoring a hattrick in last weekend’s 4-2 win against Zimbabwe.
Egypt’s win in Mozambique ensures the seven-time African champions will be one of the 10 nations through to the African play-offs for Brazil 2014.
Log
Group G
Team P W D L F A Pts
Egypt
5 5 0 0 12 5 15
Guinea
5 3 1 1 10 4 10
Mozambique
5 0 2 3 1 9 2
Zimbabwe
5 0 1 4 3 8 1
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu