Amr Zaki set up substitute Mohamed Aboutreika for the second goal in the 78th. Aboutreika scored his second goal after a solo run in the 82nd.

Referee Codjia Coffi showed Aboutreika a yellow card for celebrating his goal by pulling his jersey over his head to revealing a message written on his T-shirt that read: "Sympathize with Gaza."

Egypt leads Group C with six points, three ahead of Cameroon and Zambia. Sudan has zero points.

Egypt just needs a draw against Zambia in its last match on Wednesday in Kumasi to advance.

Sudan attacked from the start, creating a chance which Kamal Heytam wasted by shooting straight at Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary in the fourth minute.

"It was an important win for us because they made it difficult in the first half," Egypt assistant coach Shawki Gharib said. "We are here as the defending champions and you could see from the way we played in the second half."

El-Hadary saved Haitham Mustafa's 25-meter (yard) drive in the 19th before Richard Lado volleyed over the crossbar in the 35th, but Sudan was less threatening after Abd Rabou's goal.

Egypt, which is a founding member of the 16-nation tournament along with Sudan and Ethiopia, created no chances in the first half apart from the penalty.

But Aboutreika's introduction in the second half galvanized the Egyptian attack.

Abd Rabou joined Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o and Morocco's Soufiane Alloudi as leading scorers in this year's tournament with three goals.

In 2006, Egypt won a record fifth title on home soil by downing Ivory Coast on penalties.

Lineups:

Egypt: Essam El-Hadary, Mahmoud Fathalla (Ahmed Hassan, 56), Ahmed Fathi, Hani Said, Hosni Abd Rabou, Mohamed Zidan (Mohamed Aboutreika, 56), Mohammed Ibrahim, Mohamed Shawky, Wael Gomaa, Sayed Moawad, Emad Motaeb.

Sudan: Elmuiz Abdalla, Mohamed Khider, Richard Lado, Alaa Eldin Yousif, Haitham Mustafa, Bashir Hamoda, Kamal Haytham, Alaadin Ahmed Katoul Gibril, Amir Koku, Haytham Tambal (Abdel Amari, 59), Ala Eldin, Alaa Babiker.