Morocco fight for survival

Morocco's 2004 African Nations Cup finalists could find themselves making an ignominious early exit at the hands of host nation Egypt on Tuesday.

With Ivory Coast expected to comfortably beat Libya and reach six points in the day's earlier game, Group A's two slots in the quarter-finals could be wrapped up if Egypt notch their second win of the tournament.

Morocco are an attractive side going forward, moving smoothly through the gears with their neat short-passing game from midfield. But they paid a high price for a lack of finishing in their 1-0 weekend defeat by the Ivorians and will need to make the most of what looks a more suspect defence.

While Arsenal's Ivorian defensive pair Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue were kept busy tackling and charging down most of Morocco's attacks, Egypt's defenders made a number of unforced errors in their 3-0 win over the Libyans on Friday.

Morocco's French-born striker Marouane Chamakh will doubtless provide a sterner test for a home team who view the support of their own fans as very much a double-edged sword.

Though euphoric in victory, the pressure they exert during games can be a real handicap to their players' performances and they may not be patient at Cairo's International Stadium on Tuesday.

Egypt's hopes rest on the broad shoulders of talismanic striker Mido, scorer of their first goal at the tournament and whose missed penalty led to their third in the ensuing melee.

Though relieved to have made a winning start, Mido made it clear that not too much could be read into their win over a shaky Libya side who finished with 10 men.

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