Ahmed Shokri created Egypt's goal
Two headers from Hesham Mohamed and Marouane Mohsen earned Egypt a 2-0 home victory over Botswana in the first leg of the Olympic qualifiers second round.
Hesham opened the scoring in the first half and Mohsen sealed the victory with 14 minutes remaining to put Egypt in the driving seat to reach the next round.
Botswana will face a tough task to overturn the 2-0 deficit when they host Egypt, who have not qualified for the Olympic Games since 1992, in the second leg in a fortnight.
Egypt dominated possession in the first half but struggled to find way through Botswana’s defense.
Botswana could have also hit Egypt on the break but were thwarted by a fine save from keeper Mohamed Abou-Gabal early in the game. This was their sole chance in the game as they defended in numbers afterwards to keep a clean sheet.
However, Egypt managed to break the deadlock on 31 minutes when lively winger Ahmed Shokri eluded a challenger on the left and crossed for Hesham to head home from close range despite a desperate attempt from the keeper to block his effort.
The Pharaohs wasted a host of opportunities in the second half to double their advantage, including two wayward shots from midfielder Shehab Ahmed who fired wide with the goal at his mercy.
Botswana could not withstand Egypt’s sustained pressure as the hosts added the second in the 76thminute.
The visitors’ keeper needlessly rushed out of the penalty area to allow substitute Mohamed Salah to round him and whip in a cross for Mohsen, who was a largely peripheral figure until then, to head home into an empty net.
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