EgyptTanzania

90+2 the referee blows the final whistle, Egypt open their Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a 3-0 win over minnows Tanzania.

89' Morsi heads narrowly wide after a pin-point cross from Zamalek teammate Emam.

87' Substitute Fathi shows a glimpse of his skills but fails to retain the ball...

83' Mostafa Fathi replaces Mohamed Salah for Egypt's last substitution of the night.

83' Elneny unleashes a long-range strike but the keeper keeps it away!!!

80' The first corner kick for Tanzania after 80 minutes!!

76' Ramadan Sobhi receives the ball in space behind the opposition's midfield but fails to control the ball well.

70' Salah plays one-two with ex-Basel teammate Elneny who plays the former in as the winger makes no mistake with a right-footed lob.

70' WHAT A GOAL!!!! Salah scores a wonderful goal!!!

68' Kahraba replaced by Ramadan Sobhi for Egypt's second change.

65' A successfully-executed counter attack involving both Salah and Mekki ends up with the former crossing brilliantly for Morsi who heads past the keeper in excellent fashion!!

65' GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!! Bassem makes it two!!!

60' Salah swerves a corner kick from right as Rabia rises up high to head the ball in despite the keeper's attempted block...a long-awaited goal for Egypt!!

60' GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL!!!! Rabia heads Egypt in front!!!

59' That was close!!! Kahraba heads wide but Egypt get a corner kick.

57' Bassem Morsy replaces Mohamed El-Gabbas for Egypt's first substitution.

52' An unimpressive free kick cross by Kahraba headed into the sidenetting by the below-par Mekki.

49' Egypt in control but yet to to pose real threat on goal..

The second half begins...

45+1 A brilliant free kick from Salah from the right but the keeper palms it away!!!

45' Kahraba makes a good turn to hold off his challenger before striking from outside the box, but the keeper blocks.

42' That was close!!! A dangerous strike from the Tanzanians went narrowly wide of the bar as the visitors were close to taking an unlikely lead!!

40' As we mentioned earlier, Tanzania started to get into the game with Egypt unable to break the deadlock.

36' El-Gabbas made a couple of good runs behind the defense, but lacked the necessary support from a teammate.

33' The Pharaohs look to have lost the enthusiasm they showed at the beginning of the match, they need to pose more threat on goal!

30' With Egypt unable to break the deadlock, the visitors started to gain confidence and had a spell inside Egypt's own half.

26' The second goal to be ruled out for Egypt by Mekki, after Rabia was adjudged to have fouled the keeper inside the six-yard box!

24' WHAT A CHANCE!!! Kahraba goes one on one with the keeper, who blocks his shot before Salah wastes on the rebound!!

23' Tanzania's efforts are restricted to a couple of ambitious shots from outside the area, as they look happy to sit back and close down spaces in their own half.

20' Kahraba brought down after a glimpse of skill while evading a handful of challengers, as he wins a free kick.

18' Salah receives the ball inside the box, and while he looked in a good position to strike, the opponent's defender blocks his effort!

14' Tanzania's keeper got a hand to a cross from Emam from the right...corner for Egypt.

10' A free kick for Egypt in a good position, the home side look in line to bag the opener with their immense pressure as Tanzania sit back.

7' Egypt are relying much on their flanks during those early minutes as both full-backs are combining well with the wide men before them.

6' Mekki strikes but the keeper saves his low shot!! Egypt are on fire now!!

4' GOAL!! NO! The referee says offside! Hegazi could have headed Egypt in front from inside the box.

2' Egypt pile up pressure early on , and an attack from the left involving Abdel-Shafi and Kahraba ends up with a shot from El-Gabbas that goes out for corner.

The match gets underway

18:57 The national anthems are currently being played just few minutes before kick off.

18:55 Both teams have stepped onto the pitch now as they line up for the national anthems.

18:50 Cuper's selection of Rabia and Hegazi as two center backs despite their lack of first-team football at their respective clubs raised some eyebrows.

18:45 Both teams have finished warming up and heading to the dressing rooms just 15 minutes before kick off.

18:20 "There are no exceptional players who can be ever-present in Egypt's squad," Cuper told a news conference ahead of Egypt's opening game of Group G, which also includes Chad and Nigeria.

18:00 Bassem Morsy, Mahmoud 'Trezeguet', Saleh Gomaa, Ahmed Fathi, Ramadan Sobhi and Mostafa Fathi are all on the bench.

17:40 Cuper ruled out Zamalek trio Omar Gaber, Ali Gabr and Ahmed Tawfik from his 18-man squad.

17:20 Mahmoud 'Kahraba' and Mohamed Salah will be Egypt's wingers tonight as they will be servicing strike duo Mekki and El-Gabbas.

Lineups:

Egypt: Ahmed El-Shennawi, Mohamed Abdel-Shafi, Ahmed Hegazi, Rami Rabia, Hazem Emam, Ibrahim Salah, Mohamed Elneny, Mahmoud 'Kahraba', Mohamed Salah, Mohamed El-Gabbas, Ahmed Hassan Mekki

17:00 The Pharaohs still remain overwhelming favourites to claim all three points against modest Tanzania, who made one Nations Cup appearance in 1980.

16:30 Egypt played one friendly before taking on Tanzania, defeating Malawi 2-1 in Cuper's first match in charge.

16:00 Some new faces might be given a chance to play against Tanzania, including Ahly's highly-rated playmaker Ramadan Sobhi and Ittihad striker Mohamed Hamdi.

15:45 Egypt will only miss Hull City's injured winger Ahmed Elmohamady, who picked up a back injury.

15:30 Egypt are undefeated in 10 friendly and competitive matches against Tanzania, winning nine times and drawing once. Their last meeting was in a friendly tournament in January 2011, with Egypt claiming a 5-1 home victory.

14:30 Egypt will have to do without their fans due to a years-long crowd ban that was partially lifted last February but quickly reinstated when 21 Zamalek supporters died in a stampede after being tear-gassed by security forces before a Premier League game against ENPPI.

13:40 Since their latest glory night in Angola in 2010, Egypt have failed to reach the tournament under coaches Hassan Shehata (2012), Bob Bradley (2013) and Shawky Gharib (2015), suffering the ill-effects of a political turmoil that left domestic football in a state of disarray with so many stoppages and league cancellations.

13:00 Egypt's free-falling national team are fully aware that they have run out of excuses to explain a stunning reverse over the past four years and, with everything seems now in place for a turnaround in fortunes, another failure to reach the African Nations Cup would be unthinkable.

Stay tuned as match is due to start at 19:00 Cairo time (GMT+2)

Venue: Borg El-Arab Stadium, Alexandria

Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa

Check the match's preview here

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)

Short link:

