22 - 28 March 2001
Issue No.526
|
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 22 - 28 March 2001 Issue No.526 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Taking on a man's job
The teenagers who make up Egypt's under-20 football squad have just entered a man's world. Inas Mazhar reports
The young chargers of four years ago should have come of age as African qualifying matches for the World Youth Football Championship begin in Addis Ababa. But if the young pharaohs want to make it all the way to Argentina for this summer's world championship, they will have to disprove the adage that boys will be boys.
"We are well prepared for this event," head coach Shawqi Gharib said. "We know this is not going to be easy. It will be hard but we're ready. All the guys are so excited about playing in another world championship. They tasted one once before."
The team is composed of mainly the same players who were in the under-17 World Championship which Egypt hosted in 1997. That squad reached the quarter-finals; Gharib was an assistant coach then. Four years later he heads the same group of boys who are now older, bigger and hungrier.
Egypt started serious preparations shortly after eliminating Zambia in qualifications last year. Twenty seven players were called up for a trial period which included friendlies against Mali and Ghana. The number was later reduced to 20.
Egypt plays in Group A with Ethiopia, South Africa and Cameroon. South Africa and Cameroon pose the main obstacles to Egypt. The youth of Cameroon in particular would like nothing better than to emulate their big brothers who last year won both the African Nations Cup and the Olympic gold medal.
"We will also face competition from the home team which is used to the high altitude," Gharib said. Concerned with the lack of oxygen on the high slopes of Addis Ababa, Gharib took his team to Taif, Saudi Arabia, which has similarly thin air, for a period of familiarisation.
At least in the preliminary rounds, Gharib was relieved that Egypt would not be facing the game's powerhouses, Nigeria and Ghana, which are pitted against one another in Group B. "If we reach the semi-finals, that would be enough. Of course, we would like to win the title but just getting to Argentina will be an achievement in itself." The top four teams in Addis Ababa go on to the world championship.
It has been more than two decades since Ethiopia staged a major soccer championship. A protracted border war with Eritrea and famine ravaged the Horn of Africa nation and put football in an indefinite backseat.
Group A
18 March: Ethiopia v Cameroon
18 March: South Africa v Egypt
21 March: Cameroon v South Africa
21 March: Egypt v Ethiopia
24 March: Ethiopia v South Africa
24 March: Egypt v Cameroon
Group B
19 March: Ghana v Angola
19 March: Mali v Nigeria
22 March: Angola v Mali
22 March: Nigeria v Ghana
25 March: Angola v Nigeria
25 March: Ghana v Mali
Semi-finals
28 March: Winner A v Runners-up B
28 March: Winner B v Runners-up A
31 March: Third place
Final
1 April
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page