CAR knock Egypt out of Nations Cup qualifying
- Published
Egypt are out of 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, after losing 4-3 on aggregate to Central African Republic, following a 1-1 second leg draw.
Striker Foxi Kethevoama scored for the home side on 20 minutes, before Pharaohs striker Emad Motaeb levelled on 75 minutes.
CAR now progress to the final round of qualifying.
Seven-time African champions Egypt miss out on the Nations Cup finals for the second time in succession.
The Pharaohs trailed 3-2 from the first leg in Alexandria, when they suffered a shock home defeat, and their elimination after the second leg result in Bangui marks a major setback for coach Bob Bradley, who was tasked with reviving Egypt's fortunes.
"I think our ideas in attack were good," Bradley said after seeing his side eliminated.
"Obviously the execution of certain opportunities wasn't everything it needed to be.
"We only scored one goal when we needed to score three."
CAR, meanwhile, are now just two games away from qualifying for their first Nations Cup tournament.
Their Nations Cup qualifying defeat of Algeria in 2010 marked the first time in 37 years that CAR had won a competitive fixture.
They now stand on the verge of the greatest feat in their football history, with qualifying victories having been rare in the years since achieving independence in 1960.
A barren run followed again until this month, when CAR not only won their first World Cup qualifier in history - beating Botswana 2-0 on home soil - but they have also now triumphed over Egypt.
CAR leapt 30 places in the latest Fifa rankings, breaking into the top 100 for only the second time in their history, and can expect to rise again after arguably the biggest result in their history.
Despite the importance of the match, Egypt left themselves little time to acclimatise to conditions, arriving just 24 hours before the game in Bangui.
The tie was postponed because of the uncertain political situation in Egypt.
CAR now become the 30th team to make the final round of qualifying.
Fifteen two-legged play-offs will take place in September and October to decide which teams join hosts South Africa in next January's finals.
The draw to determine which teams will face one another later this year takes place in Johannesburg on Thursday 5 July.
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