TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| World Cup 2010: Japan to play Venezuela in warm-up The friendly at Kyushu Oil Dome will be the first meeting between the two countries at senior level. telegraph.co.uk |
Beckham in Capello's plans England coach Fabio Capello has declared David Beckham will be in his FIFA World Cup squad if the superstar's AC Milan stint is a success. foxsports.com.au |
Togo backflip on Cup withdrawal Togo performed a dramatic U-turn on their decision to quit the African Cup of Nations, electing instead to stay in Angola and compete, a player said hours before the competition gets underway. foxsports.com.au |
Reading upsets Liverpool in FA Cup Liverpool's troubled season took another turn for the worse when it was eliminated from the FA Cup after second-tier Reading triumphed 2-1 in their third-round replay. cbc.ca |
Egypt 3-1 Cameroon Egypt 3-1 CameroonEgypt are through to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, but their victory over Cameroon was achieved in controversial circumstances. Leading 2-1 in extra-time through Mohamed Gedo's 92nd minute strike, Egypt put the game beyond doubt three minutes later when Ahmed Hassan's free-kick was wrongly judged to have crossed the line after being punched on to the bar by Cameroon's goalkeeper Carlos Kameni.Egypt's third goal was also Hassan's third of the match, though in an odd turn of events he could not claim the match ball as his own, as one of those strikes was put past his own goalkeeper to give Cameroon an early advantage.Despite the injustice of Egypt's third, Cameroon could only have themselves to blame for their defeat. They went ahead after 25 minutes when Achille Emana's dangerous corner was mistakenly diverted into his own goal by Egypt's captain Hassan, but were unable to hold on to their lead for long.The influential Hassan, who set an African record with his 170th international appearance, demanded the focus be placed on him. Having scored at the wrong end, he restored parity after 36 minutes when Kameni blundered badly by allowing his shot to bounce in front of him and find the bottom corner. The Espanyol goalkeeper, normally a reliable performer, had a game to forget.Although Cameroon increasingly took the game to Egypt in the second half, they could not turn their dominance into anything more rewarding. Their star man, Samuel Eto'o, seemed strangely out of sorts, although he did briefly flicker into life, testing Essam El Hadary with a fierce shot, before firing over shortly afterwards.Unable to find a winner, Cameroon became their own worst enemies at the start of extra-time. Geremi's suicidal backpass was of the calibre to give him nightmares for years to come, and the Egypt substitute Gedo nipped in to nutmeg Kameni and deliver a blow from which Cameroon would not recover. Hassan's controversial free-kick merely rubbed salt into a gaping wound, and Egypt will now face their fierce rivals Algeria on Thursday for a place in the final.What little hope Cameroon had of an unlikely escape was extinguished when Aurelien Chedjou was dismissed for a professional foul. Chedjou had been preferred to Rigobert Song in defence, ending the veteran's run of 36 successive Africa Cup of Nations matches. Instead it is Egypt who can concentrate on extending records, as they go in search of their third tournament win in a row.Africa Cup of NationsEgyptCameroonJacob Steinbergguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |