Egypt 4 Cameroon 2:Mohamed Zidan scored a first-half double as the title holders, Egypt, made an impressive start in the African Nations Cup with a 4-2 thrashing of Cameroon yesterday.
The striker netted in the 17th minute and in first-half stoppage time as Egypt went 3-0 up at the interval in the Group C game at Kumasi's Baba Yara stadium.
Midfielder Hosni Abd Rabou also scored twice, putting Egypt ahead with a 14th-minute penalty and adding a powerful shot nine minutes from time.
Samuel Eto'o pulled two back for Cameroon, heading in a cross six minutes into the second half and converting a penalty just before the final whistle.
Egypt showed the title they won two years ago on home turf, their fifth all told, was no fluke and sent a serious warning to the other contenders.
"We are not here just to be part of the tournament, we are here to win a second successive title," Zidan told the Ghanaian television channel TV3. "We would give everything we have to be in the final in Accra."
The Pharaohs started brightly and earned the early penalty for handball by defender Andre Bikey, with Hosni wrong-footing the Cameroon goalkeeper, Carlos Idriss Kameni.
Three minutes later, Zidan made it two at the conclusion of a sharp counterattack from a Cameroon corner at the other end.
The Indomitable Lions, unable to control the midfield, were groggy and Zidan fired home from the edge of the box on the stroke of half-time for the third.
The Cameroon coach, Otto Pfister, added steel to his midfield at half-time by replacing Landry Nguemo and Stephane Mbia with Achille Emana and Alexandre Song.
The 2002 champions' bright start to the second half was rewarded when Eto'o headed home a cross from the right on 51 minutes.
But Egypt coach Hassan Shehata locked the door five minutes later when he replaced Zidan with defender Ahmed Al Muhammadi and Hosni secured victory with a strike from 25 metres.
Eto'o's stoppage-time penalty took him to within one goal of the Nations Cup record of 14 set by Ivory Coast's Laurent Pokou in 1970. It was scant consolation.
In yesterday's other Group C game Zambia profited from an early goal to score a resounding 3-0 win over Sudan.
James Chamanga, drafted into the starting line-up in place of suspended captain Chris Katongo, took just one minute and 45 seconds to fire Zambia ahead.
Jacob Mulenga climbed above the Sudan defence to add a second six minutes into the second half and Felix Katongo was quickest to a parried save to add a third just before the hour.
EGYPT:El Hadari, Fathallah, Moawad (Mohamed 90), Gomaa, Hany Said, Fathi, Abd Rabou, Shawky, Zidan (El Mohamady 68), Moteab, Zaki (Aboutriaka 60). Subs not used:Abdel Monssef, El Saeed, Fadl, Gamal, Hassan, Mostafa, Ibrahim Said, Shaaban, Sobhy. Booked:Hany Said, Moawad, Fathallah.
CAMEROON:Kameni, Song, Bikey, Atouba, Geremi, Makoun (Binya 38), N'Guemo (Emana 46), Epalle, Mbia (Song Billong 46), Idrissou, Eto'o. Subs not used:Hamidou, Angbwa, Essola, Job, M'Bami, Mbarga, Nkong, Tchato, Tomou. Booked:Binya.
SUDAN:Elmuiz Abdalla, Bakhit, Ali Elkhidir, Eldin Ahmed Gibril, Lado, Karar, El Bashir (Ali Idris Farah 80), Bader Eldin Abdalla, Ahmed (Yousif Hado 24), Kamal Tambal, Agab Sido (Babiker 57). Subs not used:El Basha Adam, El Hadi Salem, El Tayeb, Hameed Amari, Hassan Ali, Hassan, Kuku, Mohamed Abdalla, Tahir Osman. Booked:Bakhit, Bader Eldin Abdalla.
ZAMBIA:Mweene, Nketani, Musonda, Mwanza, Hachilensa, Bakala, Kalaba, Felix Katongo, Jacob Mulenga, Phiri (Mayuka 70), Chamanga (Clifford Mulenga 83). Subs not used:Chinyama, Himonde, Kakonje, Kampamba, Kasonde, Njovu, Poto, Sunzu. Booked:Mwanza, Felix Katongo. Goals:Chamanga 2, Jacob Mulenga 51, Felix Katongo 60.
