Magical Mido bewitches Libya

Tottenham Hotspur FC striker Mido was on target for Egypt as the host country began their African Cup of Nations campaign in promising style with a 3-0 win against ten-man Libya in Cairo on the tournament's opening day.

Spectacular start
Mido scored his side's opening goal after 17 minutes when he rose to head in Mohamed Abdelwahab's corner, and provider turned scorer five minutes later as Abdelwahab doubled Egypt's lead with a spectacular 20-metre free-kick. In the second half, Libya pushed forward in an attempt to find a way back into the game but their efforts were undermined when goalkeeper Luis de Agustini brought down Mohamed Barakat in the area to give away a penalty and receive his marching orders for a second bookable offence.

Spared blushes
Mido took the ensuing spot-kick and, although substitute goalkeeper Muftah Ghzalla parried the Tottenham striker's shot, Beşiktaş JK forward Ahmed Hassan was on hand to turn the rebound over the line and round off an impressive performance by the tournament hosts in Group A. The Pharoahs, who were last crowned champions of Africa in 1998, are bidding to win this competition for the fifth time, while Ivory Coast meet Morocco on Saturday in the other Group A fixture.