Two goals from Hussam Arafat, plus strikes from Moustafa Afroto and Mohamed gave the hosts victory, with Trinidad’s Jean Luc Rochford netting a consolation.

A frantic start showed that the players were perhaps too eager to make an impression on the opening night of this global event, in front of a crowd of 80 000 at the stadium of Borg el-Arab.

Both sides were guilty of squandering presentable chances in the early stages after good work in the midfield.

But on the half hour, after some sustained pressure, Egyptian striker Afroto took the ball beyond the Caribbean defence and side-footed it past the Trinidad keeper in style.

It was a tremendous goal and Egypt should have had a 2-0 lead shortly afterwards, but Mohamed Talaat’s header was straight at the goalkeeper.

Instead, on the counter-attack, Rochford eased through the static home defence to level things at 1-1 and it stayed that way until halftime.

It took only five minutes after the break for Egypt to restore their lead as Trinidad failed to clear a corner and Arafat had time to control and fire home from just inside the area with a stinging shot off the inside of the post.

And the Young Pharaohs made the game safe after an hour when Talaat pounced on a rebound off Glenroy Samuel in the Trinidad goal to make it 3-1.

Trinidad continued to create chances – the best with five minutes to go when Juma Clarence’s shot cannoned away off a post, but Egypt held on for the win and added gloss to the scoreline as Arafat added his second in stoppage time.

Tens of thousands of Egyptian fans had gathered many hours before kick-off in a brand new stadium outside Alexandria for the first of 52 matches in the competition, culminating in the final in Cairo on October 16.

The venue was built as part of Egypt’s ultimately unsuccessful bid to host the 2010 World Cup, but with searchlights beaming into the night sky and a fervent crowd, it provided a spectacular opener for the tournament.

The crowd left in good spirits – but the next generation of Egyptian stars will have to work on their defence before they take on Paraguay and Italy in their remaining Group A fixtures. (BBC Sport)