65 min: Karuru, who has had a fine game, does well to dig out a cross from the left. But El Shenawy snaffles it. Zimbabwe, though, are spending more and more time in Egyptian territory. The hosts aren’t safe yet …
64 min: A freekick on the right gives Zimbabwe a chance to send a cross into the box. But the delivery is shoddy.
Egypt substitution: Solimon on, Mohsen off. That likely means that Salah will shift to centre-forward and Solimon will go in on the right wing.
60 min: Elneny sweeps a pass from the left to Salah on the far flank. The Liverpool man takes it down beautifully and then feeds Elmohamady, who clips a pass towards Mohsen. The striker flips it around the last defender and tries to retrieve it on the far side but, yet again, Sibanda rushes off his line to intervene. This time, however, it’s at some cost to the keeper, as he collided with Mohsen and seems to have done himself a mischief.
57 min: Zimbabwe have spent more time in Egyptian territory over the lsat five minutes or so but they’re interplay around the box has gone awry at critical times. There’s a hint of a threat from them but unless they can summon a little more precision, it will remain unfulfilled.
55 min: Billiat tries to drop a free kick from the left into the path of the runners in yellow … but instead he sends it too long, into the arms of El Shenawy.
53 min: The eer-alert Sibanda hurries off his line to prevent Salah from latching on to a nice through-ball by El Said.
50 min: Salah dodges past Musona and then tries to thread a ball through to Mohsen. But Trezeguet gets in the way, giving a reprieve to the Zimbabwe defence.
48 min: Trezeguet cuts in from the left wing and tries to send a curling shot into the net from 25 yards. Sibanda throws himself across goal and tips it around the post for a corner.
47 min: Salah tries to wriggle his way down the right and initially looks like he’s about to going to get into a shooting position near the edge of the area. But Munetsi sticks in a foot to sabotage is run, and then Nakamba arrives at the scene to tidy up. Good defensive work by the Zimbabwean pair. Salah has been heavily involved in this game so far an full of positive intent, but things aren’t quite coming off for him.
46 min: Zimbabwe begin the second half but lose the ball within seconds.
HALF-TIME: EGYPT 1-0 ZIMBABWE
The tournament has begun with a pleasantly brisk half, and the hosts have the lead thanks to a deadly finish by Trezeguet after Zimbabwe were caught trying to play out from the back. Until then the Warriors had played well, defending stoutly and proving troublesome on the counter-attack.
Egypt, who made a rampant start, begin to look short of ideas; but Trezeguet’s strike has transformed the game and Egypt looked very dangerous again after it.
Zimbabwe, then, need to use half-time to steady themselves and try to figure out a way to stem the Egyptian flow again and spring forward themselves for an equaliser. It’s a decent contest and Egypt can’t rest until they’ve scored at least one more.
45+1 min: Mohsen and Mudimu receive treatment after banging heads as they challenged for a ball into the box.
45 min: Zimbabwe are reeling and Egypt are trying to finish them off before the break. Everything was going so well for the visitors until just a few minutes ago; now they have to shift into survival mode and get to half-time.
43 min: Salah tries to land another blow while Zimbabwe still try to com to terms with the first. He unleashes a crisp shot from 25 yards, but it whizzes a couple of yards wide.
GOAL! Egypt 1-0 Zimbabwe (Trezeguet 42)
Musona loses possession mid-way inside his own half and then Trezeguet takes over, collecting a pass as he runs into the left-hand side of the box before cutting past Hadebe and on to his right foot and curling the ball into the far corner!
37 min: Lunga does well to stop a run by Salah down the right and then take the ball forward to start a counter-attack. When their progress is stopped by a foul, Billiat takes the freekick quickly and slips in Mushekwi. El Shenawy hares of his line to make an important block at the expense of a corner.
35 min: With Hegazi off the pitch receiving treatment to his profusely bleeding nose – I don’t know how that happened – Billiat sizes up a freekick for Zimbabwe. It’s over 25 yards out but he is undaunted. But he got his calculations all wrong, because his shot sails high over the bar.
33 min: Mohamady finds Salah with another long pass from the back, but Hadebe hares out to meet him and put the ball behind for a corner. Salah delivers and inswinger to the back post, where Alaa mistimes his jump and somehow manages to head wide from two yards!
31 min: A high cross from the left wing reaches Salah beyond the far post. He fools Lunga with a feint one way and then the other, making enough room to blast off a low shot. Sibanda is well positioned to make a solid save.
29 min: Egypt’s early vim has subsided and they’re looking a little short of ideas at the moment. Things are going pretty much to Sunday Chidzambwa’s plan for now.