Egypt in Control of Group C After Match Day 1

There will be a time when the aging core of this Egypt team will start to fade.  They were the best team in the last half of the passed decade, but again unable to qualify for the World Cup (or look good while trying) had us checking their expiration date.

Today's 3-1 win over Nigeria undermines that entire premise, right?  Perhaps, but at a minimum it casts serious doubts on speculation that Egypt might not make it out of Group C.  They got three points from their toughest competition.  It will take a serious dip in form for them to miss the quarterfinals.

For Nigeria, the result is not as back as the performance.  They can get to the quarterfinals without having taken a point from Egypt.  The problem lies in how they lost.  Their defending was horrible, and because John Obi Mikel was a non-factor through the match (until he was substituted), they were unable to consistently generate chances.

Now the Super Eagles are staring up at Mozambique and Benin, who drew 2-2 in the second match of the doubleheader.

Mozambique has to thank Yoann Djidonou - the Beninese goalkeeper whose two mistakes allowed the Mambas to come back and draw the match.  While doing so, Mozambique looked deserving, but without help from Djidonou, Mozambique likely gets nothing.

More after the jump, but here is the Group C table:

The Pharoahs and Super Eagles were the main event, a match that did not disappoint.

Nigeria was dominant early and went up ten minutes in through Chinedu Obasi's great strike from 20 minutes out.  In scoring, Nigeria showed the athleticism and fluidity-combination that should have given Egypt problems throughout.  Unfortunately, that 12th minute goal was one of the last times we saw such dynamism.

As has been the case in most of Egypt's matches in the last year, midfielder captain Ahmed Hassan was their best player, only on this day - instead of being subtle about influencing the match - Hassan took center stage with a brilliant, 50-meter pass to set-up the first goal and a rocketed 27-meter blast for the game winner.

Many will have have bemoaned the absence of Mohamed Aboutrika - a great loss for the Pharaohs, but recently the more dynamic Aboutrika has overshadowed his Al-Ahly teammate in the international press.  Perhaps that is because Aboutrika's international goal-rate is nearly double that of Hassan's, though the two play markedly different roles.

Hassan is the linch pin to the midfield, the key to the Egyptian counter, and along with goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadray was one of two players who carried Egypt through a lackluster qualifying.  The captain of the team, have 169 caps and appearing in his eighth Cup of Nations, you would think it would be difficult to overlook Hassan.  Still, because f how the Pharaohs are covered, you are more apt to hear about Zaki, Zidan, or Aboutrika than Hassan.

While a performance like today's would likely garner Hassan attention abroad, odds are the only people watching were those who already knew of his virtues.

Nigeria exhibited a lot of problems in defense, something that could cost them points against Benin unless they get more organized.  On the first goal, their poor reactions while playing a high line allowed Hassan to dissect them.  The third goal (from Mohammed Geto) came off of one of many good opportunities created by the Egyptian counter.  These are things even the Beninese can exploit.

In addition to improving their defense, Nigeria has to get more out of John Obi Mikel.  Without him, the Eagles have little means of distribution from the middle of the pitch.  Especially after Egypt's second goal, when the Pharaohs were able to sit deeper and compact (and recoil after Nigerian errors), the Eagles needed smart plays from Mikel.  The midfielder was so ineffectual that Shaibu Amodu eventually removed him in favor of another goal scorer.

Amodu may have been the biggest loser today.  Nigeria can still come back and make the quarterfinals, but this embarrassing loss means that the already-under-fire coach could see himself removed if the Eagles don't make their mark in the knock-out phase.  If that happens, a Nigerian federation already looking for replacements will see wins over Benin and Mozambique (best case) and losses to Egypt and Cameroon (if form holds).  That will be federation's excuse to move-on from Amodu.

With Mozambique and Benin ...

Mozambique's defending was not what we saw in qualifiers.  Their approach of maintaining their shape in lieu of pressuring the ball was not enough against a skilled Benin side.  The Beninese were able to freely move through the defense in the match's first third, finding too much space in the middle of the area once they did.  Whether it was Mozambique nerves or their inability to raise their level of play, the defending was very bad by their standards.

Credit the Mambas with showing heart in coming back, but they were fortunate to have Djidonou bail them out.  The Benin goalkeeper misread and then misplayed a corner kick, eventually leading to the first goal.  The second goal was half-comedy, half-misfortune where Djidonou left an open net to play a ball along the sideline into touch and then failed to get back in net to defend the play from the resulting throw-in.

Even with those semi-random events, it's hard to say Benin was the better side.  Perhaps their goals were better earned, but the Beninese beyond their initial, opening match surge, Benin was not the better team.  During swathes they were as good, and the showed more skill on the ball (and better organization the times they attacked), but they also had trouble stopping a Mozambique side that was playing with more heart than acumen.  That could be a big problem going forward, particularly against Egypt.

But that's the last match of this group.  Benin next plays Nigeria, two teams who showed glaring flaws today.  Mozambique gets Egypt in a match that, given the two styles, could play out scoreless.