EGYPT: Nader, El Tabei, Hany Said, El Saka, El Sayed, Emam, Tamer Abdel Hamid, Tarek El Said, Ahmed Hassan, Bilal and Mido.

The fans are happy despite the edgy win

First half:

1st min. Pressure from Egypt, El Said got the ball inside the box and crossed it high in front of goal to Emam. A defender managed to clear it for a corner with his head before Emam.

3rd min. WHAT A CHANCE FOR MIDO! The referee awarded Egypt a direct freekick just outside the box. Mido stepped up and sent it smartly low into the bottom corner but his shot only missed the target by inches.

5th min. DANGEROUS MISS FOR ZIMBABWE! A Zimbabwean forward made a good run into the right side of Egypt's area and sent a low cross to find another teammate who tried to bury it low into Egypt's net but luckily the ball went just inches wide.

7th min. Good run from El Saka in the right wing, he crossed the ball high to Mido in the left side of the area, the latter tried a cross to Bilal but the defense headed the ball clear.

11th min. Mido got the ball in the left wing, he tried to cross to Bilal but the cross wasn't accurate enough and the defense got the ball.

14th min. First corner kick to Egypt. It came to nothing though.

18th min. El Said crossed the ball to the tightly marked Mido in the box, Hossam stopped the ball well and tried a shot with his left but it came off the body of his marker and went for a corner kick.

19th min. The corner kick was quickly taken and Tarek El Sayed sent a shot straight into the arms of the keeper.

24th min. Good play from Egypt. The Pharaohs dominated the midfield area with some good passing/dribbling in the past few minutes. The pressure ended with a low cross to Mido inside the area who tried a bicycle kick but it was blocked by defense.

30th min. Freekick for Egypt just outside the area. Bashir struck the freekick at goal but it was blocked by defense. Mido got the ball under extreme pressure from defense but he managed to send a superb shot into the top corner but the keeper turned it away for a corner.

34th min. Hassan got the ball inside the box, he sent it low to Abdel Hamid at the edge of the area and the latter tried a cross in front of goal to Mido and Bilal but the cross was closer to the Zimbabwean keeper.

39th min. WHAT A CHANCE FOR EGYPT! A superb low pass was played to Emam in some free space in the right side of the area, Emam crossed the ball low to Mido in front of goal but a defender managed to slide the ball for a corner before Hossam!

43rd min. ANOTHER CHANCE WASTED! Mido got the ball in Zim's midfield, he spotted Bilal in the box and crossed the ball to him. Bilal made a superb one-two with Emam but his shot from inside the box went way over.

45th min. HASSAN SQUANDERED ANOTHER CHANCE! Emam sent a magical cross to the totally unmarked Hassan in the box but the Besiktas' topscorer diverted the ball away from the far corner.

45+1 min. Dangerous attempt from Ndolfu but Nader collected the ball safely.

End of the first half.

Second half:

46th min. GOAL FOR ZIMBABWE! Peter Ndolfu mat a left wing cross with a superb header into the far corner. 0-1 for Zimbabwe!

51st min. WHAT A LUCK! Ahmed Hassan should have scored! Tamer crossed the ball into the area, Hassan jumped higher than his marker and powered a header at goal but the keeper managed to turn it away for a corner.

54th min. Yellow card for El Said after falling theatrically inside the box.

57th min. TAMER ABDEL HAMID EQUALIZED FOR EGYPT! Nice build up from the left wing ended with a cross from El Sayed into the area, Bilal tried a header but it was blocked by defense. Mido and Bilal tried to get to the ball but Abdel Hamid managed to bury the ball home while the confused Zimbabwean defenders were trying to clear the danger. (Download the goal from EP's multimedia section)

61st min. Emam out, Barakat in.

62nd min. BARAKAT SCORED THE 2ND FOR EGYPT! From his first touch to the ball, Mohamed Barakat powered a header at goal, the keeper got a hand to the ball but he couldn't keep it out and a it crossed the line. 2-1 for Egypt now. (Download the goal from EP's multimedia section)

66th min. Pressure from Zimbabwe. The Pharaohs were up to the challenge so far.

69th min. El Said out, Ahmed Fathy in.

70th min. Through pass into Egypt's area, El Saka hacked the ball well before the onside Zimbabwean forward.

73rd min. Barakat penetrated well into the area of Zimbabwe, he laid the ball well to the oncoming Fathi who rifled it just over the crossbar.

75th min. Superb through from Barakat to Hassan, the latter tried to take the ball past the last man and get into one on one situation with the keeper but the match referee whistled for a foul by Hassan.

78th min. Barakat sent an accurate pass to El Sayed in midfield, the latter moved forward and had an effort on goal from way out but his shot sailed way over the bar.

80th min. Corner kick for Zimbabwe but Nader punched the ball clear.

82nd min. Yellow card for El Sayed.

84th min. Bilal out, Khashaba in.

85th min. WHAT A CHANCE FOR ZIMBABWE! The almost scored the equalizer through their number 10 forward who received a cross which made him face to face with Nader and just few meters away from the net. However, he sent his shot over the bar.

88th min. TERRIBLE MISS FROM KHASHABA. Ahmed Hassan did well to keep the ball and sent a low pass to Mido in the left wing. Hossam made a superb effort in the left flank and crossed the ball to the oncoming Hady Khashaba who connected with a diving header but it went way over the bar.

89th min. Ahmed Hassan dribbled outside Zimbabwe's area and sent a low shot with his left but it went wide.

90+3 Egypt managed to keep the ball in the last minutes till the final whistle was blown.

Full time: Egypt 2-1 Zimbabwe

Note: The other matc of the group ended in a 1-1 draw between Cameroon and Algeria. This will put more pressure on Egypt to win the Algeria encounter and to survive against the indomitable lions.

• Discuss the latest about Egyptian soccer in EP forums
• Check this special offer: 1000MB 50GB Web Hosting for only $9.95/month with no contracts. PHP4, MYSQL, CGI, SSH all included. Click here!