Egypt decide to hold World Cup playoff in hostile Cairo

champions PSG, with Marseille one point further back.

“I’m very happy with the match,” said Ranieri.

“The first 25 minutes weren’t that smooth.

“But it was very important after the Paris match (a 1-1 draw last Sunday) to earn three points.

“It’s a very good start to the season. The results give us tranquillity, confidence and calmness,” added the Italian.

“Are we sending a signal to the others? No, it’s too early in the season.”

Both goalkeepers were tested early at the Stade Louis II with Wahbi Khazri drawing a pair of saves from Monaco custodian Danijel Subasic, while Bastia’s Mickael Landreau had to be at his best to keep out Riviere and Layvin Kurzawa.

However, Landreau’s resistance was broken on 39 minutes as James Rodriguez played in Riviere who held off Francois-Joseph Modesto before steering a shot just inside the near post for his sixth goal of the season.

Falcao then scored for the fourth straight game two minutes later as he ran onto Joao Moutinho’s through ball before firing past Landreau.

The Colombian added his second of the evening a minute from the end, taking his tally to a Ligue 1 best seven goals, as he pounced on Yannick Ferreira Carrasco’s blocked effort to steer beyond a helpless Landreau.

Earlier, PSG’s record signing Edinson Cavani netted the only goal at the Stade du Hainaut in first-half stoppage time as Laurent Blanc’s side won 1-0 away to struggling Valenciennes.

“We burned a lot of energy in the Monaco match and only had three days to recover. It was a difficult match in all senses,” said PSG coach Blanc.

“But the important thing is to have taken the three points because we’ll have plenty of matches like that over the course of the season.”

Elsewhere, goals from Salim Arrache and Aboubacar Demba Camara gave Fabrizio Ravanelli’s Ajaccio their first victory of the season as they recorded a 2-1 win at home to Lyon.

Martin Braithwaite’s 72nd-minute winner handed Toulouse a 1-0 win over Lorient, while promoted Guingamp routed basement club Sochaux 5-1, Nantes beat Nice 2-0 and Bordeaux drew 0-0 with Reims. — AFP CAIRO: Egypt’s national football team would play in Cairo for the first time in two years, and for a spot in the World Cup.

The Egyptian football association decided on Wednesday to hold the second leg of the World Cup playoff against Ghana in November at a military stadium in the violence-hit capital.

The EFA also said that fans would be allowed in to watch the Nov 15 game at the 30 June Stadium.

The decision to play in Cairo for the first time since late 2011 was taken after discussions between the national football body, sports minister Taher Abouzeid, a former Egyptian international player, and state authorities.

Egypt have not qualified for the World Cup since 1990, but under former United States coach Bob Bradley they progressed to the final two-leg playoffs for a place in Brazil next year with a perfect six wins in their group, the only team out of 40 to do that.

Bradley also had called for the playoff against 2010 World Cup quarter-finalists Ghana to be held in Cairo and in front of fans to boost the Egyptians’ chances of making it to football’s main event.

The 30 June Stadium has a capacity of 30,000 and the EFA said they would be full for the Ghana game.

“We would love to play in Cairo,” Bradley had said after the playoff draw last week in Cairo. “That is the dream of the team.”

Egypt’s last game in Cairo was a 3-0 win over Niger in October 2011, four months before a deadly riot at a league game in the Mediterranean city of Port Said left more than 70 fans dead in the midst of the country’s political turmoil.

Since then, Egypt’s national team have played in Alexandria and more recently in the Red Sea resort of El Gouna to avoid the unrest that has swept through Cairo and other major cities.

Despite being the record seventime African champions, Egypt’s football has been tied to the upheaval at home that began with the 2011 overthrow of long-time President Hosni Mubarak.

Then the three-time defending champions, Egypt surprisingly failed to qualify for the 2012 African Cup and also missed out on the continental championship this year in South Africa. — AP