ALEXANDRIA – Egypt, Algeria and Cameroon were among the top African sides which recorded victories in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Egypt edged out their North African rivals, Libya 1-0 in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Group F match at the Borg el-Arab Stadium, in Alexandria Friday night.
Algeria maintained their lead at the top of Group A table after annihilating Niger 6-1 at home with Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani both grabbing a brace.
Cameroon returned to winning ways in Group D when they thrashed a hapless Mozambique side 3-1 at home with Geny scoring the visitors’ consolation goal.
The win elevated Egypt to the top of Group F as Libya slipped down to second place ahead of Monday’s clash between the two teams in Benghazi.
The Pharaohs were looking to bounce back to winning ways in Group F after drawing 1-1 with Gabon away last month, while the Mediterranean Knights edged out Angola 1-0 away.
Despite their attack being led by world-class striker Mohamed Salah, Egypt were frustrated by the Libyan defence and the hosts struggled to create clear cut chances with the visitors defending very well at the back in the opening exchanges.
The Mediterranean Knights looked dangerous whenever they pushed forward and Ahmed el-Trbi forced goalkeeper Mohamed el-Shenawy into a decent save with a header, before Mohamed Zaabia’s shot hit the post with the hosts’ defence exposed.
This served as a wake-up call for the Pharaohs, who piled on the pressure after the half-hour mark and they were awarded a free-Kick in a promising area, but Salah’s attempt from the set-piece was well-saved by keeper Mohamed Nashnush.
The score was 0-0 at half-time.
The Pharaohs continued to put pressure on the visitors’ defence after the restart and they broke the deadlock when Mohamed Marmoush scored on his debut for Egypt as he turned, before unleashing a powerful shot which beat Nashnush to make it 1-0 to the hosts in the 49th minute.
Forward Hamdou el-Houni, who is on the books of Tunisian football powerhouse Esperance de Tunis, was among substitutes that were introduced by Libya coach Javier Clemente as the visitors looked to level matters and preserve their unbeaten record in Group F.
The momentum was the Pharaohs in the closing proceedings and Nashnush had to pull off good saves to deny Marmoush and Moustafa Mohamed with Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz having introduced speedy winger Ramadan Sobhi.
However, the hosts could not add to their solitary goal and ultimately, the game ended in a 1-0 victory in favour of Egypt as they grabbed the North African derby bragging rights.
Elsewhere, Riyad Mahrez scored twice as he captained Algeria to a 6-1 thrashing of Niger in World Cup qualifying.
The result in Blida kept the reigning African champions top of Group A, ahead of Burkina Faso on goal difference in a two-team fight to finish first and qualify for the final elimination round next March.
It also stretched Algeria’s undefeated run to 30 matches.
Both Mahrez goals came from set pieces as he converted a free-kick to break the deadlock on 27 minutes and give the Desert Foxes a 1-0 half-time advantage.
After Sofiane Feghouli doubled the lead two minutes into the second half, Manchester City winger and former African Footballer of the Year Mahrez scored from a penalty on the hour for a 3-1 lead.
Nigerien Zakariya Souleymane conceded an own-goal and Islam Slimani took his World Cup qualifying goal tally to six with a brace.
Algeria has hosted Niger — who is 89 places below the north Africans in the latest FIFA world rankings — three times in World Cup qualifying and scored 16 goals while conceding just one.
The Blida blitz stretched to 30 matches the unbeaten run of Algeria, who last lost in October 2018 away to Benin in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Abdoul Tapsoba scored twice for Burkina Faso in a 4-0 victory over Djibouti, who hosted the match in Moroccan city Marrakech because they do not have an international-standard stadium.
Cameroon returned to winning ways in Group D when they thrashed a hapless Mozambique side 3-1 at home with Geny scoring the visitors’ consolation goal.
The Indomitable Lions remained second on the group standings despite their victory as leaders, Ivory Coast claimed a 3-0 win over Malawi away from home on the same day.
Côte d’Ivoire scored two late goals to complete a 3-0 win over Malawi, whose lack of an international-standard stadium forced them to play in Soweto near Johannesburg.
Victory lifted the Côte d’Ivoire to seven points at the halfway stage, one more than Cameroon, whose veteran forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting bagged a brace in a 3-1 win over Mozambique in Douala.
Côte d’Ivoire rested four Premier League players — Eric Bailly, Maxwel Cornet, Nicolas Pepe and Wilfried Zaha — ahead of the return match against Malawi on Monday.
That left Wolves defender Willy Boly as the only England-based player in the starting line-up, and the absence of the ‘big names’ was hardly noticed as they quickly established control.
Max Gradel opened the scoring on 35 minutes and second-half dominance was belatedly translated into goals when Ibrahim Sangare and Jeremie Boga netted.
Veteran Bayern Munich forward Choupo-Moting scored in each half and Karl Toko Ekambi added a third goal in Atlantic port city Douala before Geny Catamo notched a late consolation.
A miserable night for the Mozambican Mambas (Snakes) was completed two minutes from time when Danilo Muze was shown a straight red card.
