Kickoff (Cape Town)
21 August 2008
African champions Egypt were handed an embarrassing 4-0 defeat by Sudan in a World Cup warm-up match on Wednesday.
It was Egypt's first defeat by their southern neighbours in 33 years and added to the pressure before a World Cup qualifier against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Kinshasa on September 7.
A Mahmoud Fathallah own goal in the first-half gave Sudan a deserved lead. Goalkeeper Mohamed Abdul-Monsef, who replaced Essam Al-Hadari at halftime, was to blame for Sudan's additional three goals in the second half.
In the last 10 minutes, Mudathir El Tahir notched a brace while Ahmed Adel was also on the score sheet to condemn Egypt to a heavy defeat.
It is Egypt's first defeat at the hands of neighbors Sudan since 1975.
It is also the Pharaohs' heaviest defeat in five years. In 2003, France thrashed Egypt 5-0 at Stade de France.
Egypt are preparing for a crunch tie against DR Congo in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers next month.
Sudan had the upper hand in the first half as Egypt players were apparently finding it difficult to adjust to their new roles.
Egypt coach Hassan Shehata, who led the national team to back-to-back Nations Cup titles, employed an unfamiliar 4-4-2 formation. The six-time African champions are used to playing with a 3-5-2 formation.
Middlesbrough's Mido, who played his first match for Egypt since September 2007, was deployed as a left winger.
Natural midfielder Ahmed Hassan played on the right while playmaker Mohamed Aboutreika supported striking duo Emad Meteb and Amr Zaki.
Despite the abundance of high-profile players within Egypt's starting line-up, the Pharaohs struggled to match their opponents.
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