NIAMEY, Niger: Niger caused a major upset in 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifying on Sunday with a 1-0 victory over Egypt, winners of the last three editions of the tournament.
Niger striker Moussa Maazou, who plays for French club Bordeaux, scored the winner in the 34th minute. Maazou raced past Egypt defender Mohamed Abdel Shafy and then slipped the ball past the Essam El Hadary as the Egypt goalkeeper came charging out.
Egypt pushed forward in search of an equalizer, but never mounted a serious threat to the Niger goal.
Later on the same day, Sierra Leone held Group G leader South Africa to a 0-0 draw in their African Cup of Nations qualifying match.
Without injured midfield star Steven Pienaar, South Africa failed to break through against the Leone Stars — who beat Bafana Bafana in the teams’ last meeting in Freetown two years ago.
The draw sees South Africa maintain top spot in Group G with four points, one point ahead of Niger. Sierra Leone is third with two points from two draws, while Egypt slumps to last place in the group after a draw and a loss in its opening two qualifying matches for the 2012 African Cup in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
