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African Cup of Nations 2010: Egypt Team Guide

2009 epitomized the best and worst of Egyptian football; a sensational win over Italy in the Confederations Cup was followed up by failure to qualify for the World Cup. Egypt will be hoping to banish memories of that recent disappointment by claiming a record third consecutive African Cup of Nations in Angola and sixth overall.

It really was a topsy-turvy year for fans of the Pharaohs, the high of beating Italy was somewhat negated after failure to overcome the US and subsequently missing out on the semi-finals at the Confederations Cup. Yet more heartbreak followed, when Algeria then beat Egypt in a play-off for the final African spot at the World Cup next summer. It goes to illustrate that on their day Egypt are match for any side in the world, but are also capable of mixing the distinctly ordinary with their ability.

Egypt haven’t qualified for a FIFA World Cup since 1990, and since other African sides such as the Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Ghana have hogged much of the global spotlight. Nevertheless Egypt have been untouchable in recent African Cup of Nations claiming outright victory on home turf in 2006 and following that up with another win in Ghana two years ago.

Whilst Egypt, Cameroon and Ghana have all won two successive African Cup of Nations, no country has ever managed three in a row. Therefore if Egypt can bring their best form to Angola, they could be on course to rewrite history. Nevertheless that will prove little solace to the Egyptian fans, as they will once again be forced to watch on in June as the World Cup takes place without them.

World Cup heartbreak

Qualification for the 2010 World Cup stated so well with Egypt qualifying convincingly, sweeping through the first group with five wins from six games, going down to just one defeat mid-group to Malawi, and the 15 points they picked up ranked them amongst the better performing sides in the first stage.

However, things started to go awry in the second group phase after a slow start in a considerably tougher section, from which only one team would qualify. Nevertheless drawn into Group C along with Algeria, Zambia and Rwanda, Egypt were still deemed strong favourites to progress to South Africa.

However the failure of Zambia and Rwanda to perform in the group after the first round of matches, when they held the better fancied pair to draws, effectively turned the direct meetings between Egypt and Algeria into play-offs. A 3-1 defeat in Algiers couldn’t quite be overturned in Cairo on the final match-day, as Egypt only managed a 2-0 victory in the return match. Theywere also deadlocked in terms of goal difference, goals scored and head-to-head record thus forcing a play-off.

Much has been written about events before the initial game in Cairo and much speculation surrounds the play-off held in Sudan during the following week. What is certain is that on the day Algeria performed slightly better, managed to snatch a goal and then proceeded to cling on in the face of an Egyptian barrage. That defeat ensured that Algeria progressed and for all of Egypt’s fine performances in the Confederations Cup in South Africa just 12 months earlier, they won’t be at the main event.

Loss of form

One area that cost Egypt dear was the loss of form of Amr Zaki, who had been enjoying a great run of goals during the initial qualification section, but found the net just twice in the second phase. Although Egypt overall managed nine goals in that phase, a total equalled by qualified countries such as Algeria, Nigeria and Cameroon, their failure to cash in on their relatively weak performance of Zambia and Rwanda may ultimately be at the root of their failure to make it to South Africa. Had Egypt continued to plunder goals at the rate they posted in the first phase of qualifying, albeit against weaker teams, then the play-off against Algeria would never have been required, as Egypt would have enjoyed a potentially superior goal-difference in contrast to their North African rivals.

Of course it’s not just down to the former Wigan striker, as Egypt have plenty of fire-power including Borussia Dortmund’s Mohamed Zidan and the experienced Emad Moteab at their disposal. One can only wonder what might have been, if Egypt could harness the obvious ability that Mido possesses.

Ringing the changes
The fall-out from that failure is evident in the form of the 23-man squad named by Hassan Shehata for the 2010 African Cup of Nations with several familiar names missing including Wael Gomaa, Mido, Amr Zaki, Mohamed Shawky and Mohamed Aboutrika. The team therefore includes several experimental players. However, the intention clearly isn’t to refresh the squad; although several of the omissions could now be classed as “experienced”, the average of the squad named for the trip to Angola is actually one year more than the side named for the play-off against Algeria. This tournament therefore represents a chance for some of the fringe players to stake a claim in the senior selection and with seven players possessing less than 10 caps that would appear to be the case.

Squad

Goalkeepers � Essam El-Hadary (Ismaily), Abdelwahed El-Sayed (Zamalek), Mahmoud Abou El-Saoud (El Mansoura)

Defenders � Ahmed Al-Muhammadi (Enppi), Abdel Zaher El-Saqua (Eskisehispor), Hani Said (Zamalek), Ahmed Fathy (Al-Ahly), Sayed Moawad (Al-Ahly), Wael Gomaa (Al-Ahly), Mahmoud Fathallah (Zamalek), Mohamed Abdel-Shafy (Zamalek), Moatasem Salem (Ismaily)

Midfielders � Ahmed Eid Abdel Malek (Haras El Hodood), Hosny Abd Rabo (Ali Dubai), Ahmed Hassan (Al-Ahly), Shikabala (Zamalek), Hossam Ghaly (Al-Nassr)

Attackers � Mohamed Zidan (Borussia Dortmund), Emad Moteab (Al-Ahly), Ahmed Raouf (Enippi), Al-Sayed Hamdy (Petrojet)

Players to Watch

Fixtures

12th Jan � Nigeria

16th Jan � Mozambique

20th Jan � Benin

Prediction

Many in Egypt feel that the Achilles heel of the team lies in their inability to overcome their fellow North-African rivals. Based on recent defeats against the like of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, the initial draw has been relatively kind. With that concern in mind, Egypt may prefer to take their chances against Cameroon in the quarter-finals, rather than Tunisia, their other potential opponents, if they progress to that stage as expected. With the significant omissions from the squad for the 2010 African Cup of Nations there has to be some doubt as to whether there is the talent to challenge for the outright victory. What Egypt do have though is a selection of players eager to prove their worth to the management. So whilst they may not match up to previous squads in terms of talent, there will be plenty of determination to challenge for a record breaking sixth African title.

Posted by Walter Townsend on Friday, 1st January 2010

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