Egypt 2 -1 Ghana (Agg 3-7): Black Stars En Route To Brazil

The Senior national team, the Black Stars have qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be staged in Brazil next year despite being beaten by two goals to one in Cairo, Egypt. The Black Stars played the Pharaohs of Egypt at the 30th June Air Defence Stadium in Cairo in a bid to secure qualification to Brazil 2014. Egypt had to beat the Stars by a five-goal margin to deny Ghana a third consecutive qualification to the World Cup having qualified in 2006 and 2010. A healthy lead from the first leg at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi was more than enough for the 2010 World Cup quarter-finalists to book a place in Brazil. Five times African champions, Egypt, despite exhibiting a superb performance in Cairo, failed to qualify to Brazil 2014 notwithstanding their win over the Black Stars. Ghana qualified for the World Cup finals on Tuesday evening, despite losing 2-1 away to Egypt in the second leg of their FIFA World Cup play-off. The Black Stars boasted a 6-1 advantage from their meeting in October and were never in serious danger of being upset by the Egyptians. Amr Zaki gave the home side slight hope with a first-half goal but no further inroads were made until the closing stages, when Mohammed Gedo struck to double the Egyptians lead. Regardless of the pressure mounted on the Stars', with few minutes of the game left, substitute Kevin-Prince Boateng pulled one back to make it 2-1. The comprehensive 7-3 aggregate win means Ghana has qualified for their third consecutive World Cup, while Egypt have not made the finals since 1990. Ghana now joins West African countries; Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil next year.