The referee blows his final whistle, Zimbabwe 2-4 Egypt
88 Full time approaching, Egypt have all but secured their place in the decisive playoff of the World Cup qualifiers.
86 Egypt make their final substitution. Left winger Ahmed Shedid makes way for attacking midfielder Ahmed Temsah.
84 Mohamed Salah completes his hat-trick in the frantic moments to put the result beyond doubt! He sends a low shot into the bottom corner from inside the area after being found unmarked by a pass.
84 GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL FOR EGYPT
83 A cross evades central defender Ahmed Hegazy and finds Billiat Khama, whose header strikes the body of Ekramy and goes in.
82 GOOOOAAAAAAAAAAL FOR ZIMBABWE!!
79 Salah, who has recently helped Basel win the Swiss league, is enjoying a great night. He is making the difference with his penetrating skills.
77 Mohamed Salah scores a sublime goal, his second of the night! He speeds onto a pass from Mohamed Abou-Treika, skips past his marker twice to go one-on-one with the keeper and send a superb shot into the bottom corner with the outside of his left foot.
77 GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAL FOR EGYPT!!
75 Egypt are under intense pressure. Zimbabwe are desperately looking for the equalizer.
74 Two successive, close-range shots from Zimbabwe's forwards are blocked by Ekramy and the defence. The passionate crowd is cheering on the hosts.
73 Zimbabwe fail to make the most of a goal-mouth scramble. Egypt defenders clear the danger.
71 Egypt also make their second substitution. Midfielder Ibrahim Salah comes on instead of Mohamed El-Neny as Bradley aims to close down spaces in midfield.
70 Zimbabwe make another substitution. Tafadzwa Rusike is replaced by Ovidy Karuru.
69 Egypt keeper Sherif Ekramy comes to Egypt's rescue! He rushes out in a timely manner to gather the ball before forward Cuthbert Malajila.
67 Zimbabwe's Ocean Mushure tries his luck from distance but his shot goes over the crossbar.
65 Egypt make their first substitution. Right winger Ahmed Elmohamady replaces the ineffective Ahmed Eid.
65 It's Salah again! He rounds the keeper after a breakaway but poor dribbling sees him rush to the byline instead of shooting goalwards. The ball is eventually cleared.
63 Mohamed Salah squanders another opportunity! He breaks clear but his shot is blocked by the advancing keeper.
61 Zimbabwe make their first substitution. Denver Mukamba replaces Archford Gutu.
60 Dull moments now. Both sides are unable to muster any efforts on opposing goals.
58 Egypt are gradually regaining control, but they are yet to create clear-cut opportunities in the second half. Forward Ahmed Eid could be the first to be substituted, given his sluggishness upfront.
55 In Egypt's first forway forward in the second half, a low cross by right winger Ahmed Fathi is cleared by the hosts' defence.
53 Some individual errors by Egypt's defenders allow Zimbabwe to make some dangerous raids.
50 Zimbabwe make a lively start to the second half. They are laying siege to Egypt's area.
48 Zimbabwe go close to grabbing the equaliser! A low shot by Musona narrowly misses the target from the edge of the area.
46 A low cross by a Zimbabwe forward from the right goes begging.
The second half is underway
The referee blows his half-time whistle, Zimbabwe 1-2 Egypt
45 Salah's trademark bursting runs are causing all sorts of problems for Zimbabwe's shaky defence.
41 The impressive Mohamed Salah restores Egypt's lead. He runs onto a deft pass to beat the offside trap and go through, placing the ball under Arubi's body and into the net from close range.
41 GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAL FOR EGYPT!!
39 At the other end, Ahmed Shedid floats in a free kick from the right that eludes everyone and goes goalwards but Zimbabwe keeper Washington Arubi palms the ball away.
36 Matthew Rusike's free-kick goes high over.
35 Egypt midfielder Hossam Ashour is booked for a challenge on Hardlife zvirekwi.
34 A chance for Zimbabwe! A forward cuts inside his marker in the area and sends a low shot that is blocked by Ekramy.
33 Egypt are still dangerous on the break. Zimbabwe's reliance on an offside trap could haunt them.
31 Egypt waste a chance to restore their lead!! A throw-in releases Mohamed Salah but his subsequent angled shot is blocked by the keeper.
30 Zimbabwe made the most of a defensive error to restore parity and send the home fans into raptures. The game is now evenly balanced.
27 Zimbabwe now have the better possession. Egypt's midfield duo Hossam Ashour and Mohamed El-Neny are struggling to steal possession.
24 Egypt were also let down by similar defensive mistakes in recent friendly games.
21 A dreadful blunder by Egypt's central defender Mahmoud Fathallah allows Zimbabwe to level the score. A tame long ball eludes him and find Knowledge Musona, who dinks the ball over keeper Sherif Ekramy and into the net.
21 GOOOAAAAAAAAL FOR ZIMBABWE!!!
20 Both sides are hampered by too many mis-placed passes.
17 In Zimbabwe's first foray forward, a volley narrowly misses the target from the edge of the area.
15 Egypt controlled the first quarter of an hour, opening the scoring and dampening a spirited Zimbabwe side.
14 Zimbabwe are yet to mount any threats.
11 Egypt are trying to expose the gaps in Zimbabwe's static backline. They are repeatedly trying some long balls behind the defence.
10 The evergreen Abou-Treika also scored the decisive late goal when Egypt defeated Zimbabwe 2-1 in Alexandria in March.
8 Egypt make a lively start. They are hardly affected by the absence of an established striker.
6 Winger Mohamed Salah latches onto a through pass on the right, sends a low cross for veteran playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika to fire home from inside the area and silence the home crowd.
6 GOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL FOR EGYPT!!
4 A long-range shot by Egypt midfielder Mohamed El-Neny goes high over.
2 A cross by Egypt's Ahmed Fathi goes to the far post but Zimbabwe's defence clears the ball.
1 Zimbabwe are roared on by a passionate crowd in Harare. Egypt are likely to be cautious in the early stages.
The match is underway
14:45 Egypt coach Bob Bradley surprisingly fields a three-man defence. The starting XI does not include a recognized striker, with a three-pronged attack featuring deep-lying forwards Mohamed Salah, Mohamed Abou-Treika and Ahmed Eid.
14:40 Zimbabwe's starting line-up: Washington Arubi, Partson Jaure, Lincoln Zvasiya, Felix Chindungwe, Ocean Mushure, Archford Gutu, Devon Chafa, Hardlife zvirekwi, Matthew Rusike, Knowledge Musona, Cuthbert Malajila
14:30 Egypt's starting line-up: Sherif Ekramy, Ahmed Hegazy, Wael Gomaa, Mahmoud Fathallah, Ahmed Fathi, Hossam Ashour, Mohamed El-Neny, Ahmed Shedid, Mohamed Abou-Treika, Mohamed Salah, Ahmed Eid.
14:00 Egypt will have to do without striker Mohamed Nagy 'Gedo', midfielder Hosni Abd-Rabou and goalkeeper Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed, who are all injured.
13:30 Egypt coach Bob Bradley is yearning to end the country's 24-year wait for a World Cup appearance.
13:10 Egypt are relying on in-form forward Mohamed Salah to unlock Zimbabwe's backline through his trademark bursting runs and defence-splitting passes.
13:00 Egypt and Zimbabwe met 11 times in friendly and competitive games. Egypt won six games, Zimbabwe won once and they drew four times.
Stay tuned for Ahram Online's live coverage of the 2014 World Cup qualifier game Group G between Egypt and Zimbabwe in Harare.
The Pharaohs, who collected maximum nine points from their opening three games in Group G, are expected to enjoy a smooth ride to the decisive playoff as they bid to end a lengthy drought stretching back to 1990.
A victory for Egypt combined with a failure by second-placed Guinea, who have four points, to beat Mozambique (two points) will give the seven-time African champions an unassailable lead at the top with two matches to spare.
The match kicks off at 15:00 CLT (13:00 GMT).
Egypt's probable line-up:
Sherif Ekramy, Ahmed Fathi, Wael Gomaa, Mahmoud Fathallah, Ahmed Shedid, Ibrahim Salah, Mohamed El-Neny, Ahmed Elmohamady, Mohamed Salah, Mohamed Abou-Treika, Ahmed Hassan Mekki
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports)
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