Tottenham striker Mido enjoyed a scoring start to his African Nations Cup campaign as Egypt beat 10-man Libya 3-0 in the opening game.

The Spurs man opened the scoring and later missed a penalty as the host nation put on a confident display at the Cairo International Stadium.

Egypt took a 17th-minute lead when Tottenham striker Mido headed home. Mohamed Aboutraika netted the second five minutes later with a superb free-kick as Libya struggled to make an impact on the game, while Ahmed Hassan scored the rebound from a penalty after Libya goalkeeper Luis Ruben was sent off and Mido missed the kick.

A nervy opening from Libya saw the hosts enjoy a good spell of early possession and Mido posed a threat from the outset.  El-Ramli squandered Libya's first sight of goal when the ball fell to him on the edge of the area and he blazed high and wide with his right-footed shot.

At the other end, Ruben was given his first test as Abdel El-Sakka slammed a drive towards goal from outside the box and the custodian could only punch the ball out for a corner.

Egypt's dominance paid off after 17 minutes, when another corner for the hosts saw Abdelwahab swing over a cross and Mido rose unchallenged to apply a superb headed finish, giving Ruben no chance.

Egypt immediately went back on the attack, in search of a second goal, and Libya defender Younes El-Shebani conceded a free-kick when he dragged Amr Zaki to the ground.

El-Shebani was booked but worse was to follow for Libya as Mido's dummy run over the ball left Aboutraika to curl a perfectly struck free-kick into the top corner.

El-Shebani was given the chance to make up for his error as Libya won a free-kick after 25 minutes but his blistering 30-yard strike flew just high of Essam El-Hadary's goal.

The introduction of El Taib after half-time gave Libya a boost and the midfielder instilled his side with some much-needed battling qualities.

But calamity struck for Libya in the 73rd minute when Zaki broke into the box and went past Ruben, only to be brought down by the goalkeeper, who was subsequently given his second yellow card and his marching orders.

Replacement 'keeper Meftah Ghazalla dived down to his left to save Mido's spot-kick but Ahmed Hassan pounced on the rebound and rammed home Egypt's third to seal a straightforward win.