Egypt smash Sudan

CAIRO (GoPharaohs.com) - Egypt resurrected its hopes for a third-ever World Cup appearance Sunday, smashing neighbors Sudan 6-1 in an African zone Group 3 qualifier.

A brace for second-team striker Abdel Haleem Ali saw the Pharaohs cruise to a comfortable 3-0 halftime advantage.

Amr Zaki, another forward filling in for starters Ahmed ?Mido? Hossam and Emad Meteb, had his double on 50 minutes. Meanwhile Zamalek left-back Tareq El-Sayed and national team new-comer Ahmed Eid Abdel-Malek completed the route with late goals.

Haytham Tambal bagged a late consolation goal for the visitors, who exposed an Egyptian defense that has suffered from crucial lapses in concentration throughout qualifying.

The triumph puts Egypt just three points behind leaders Ivory Coast in the group. Separating them is Cameroon, ahead of Egypt by one point. The Indomitable Lions disposed of a Benin squad comprised mainly of its under-20 team 4-1 in Cotonou on Saturday.

The Elephants were held to a scoreless draw away to Libya on Friday, opening the door for the weekend results.

The matches double as qualifiers for the 2006 African Cup of Nations finals in Egypt. Egypt qualify automatically as hosts while Sudan and Benin have both been virutually eliminated from contention.

Egypt travel to Abidjan in a fortnight, needing a win to equal the Ivorians? 16 points. Cameroon meanwhile will host Libya, also on June 19.

Only the group winners from the African zone qualify to the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in Germany.

Should two or more teams finished tied on points, head-to-head results between the teams concerned would be the main tie-breaker. Head-to-head goal difference is the second tie-breaker, followed by overall goal difference.

Despite being dealt what is dubbed the ?Group of Death?, Egypt have scored 21 goals so far in World Cup qualifying, the highest such total of any team in the African zone.