28 June - 4 July 2001
Issue No.540
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 28 June - 4 July 2001 Issue No.540 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Egyptian forces advance
Although one game remains in the first round of the World Military Championships, Egypt is already looking ahead. Amira Ibrahim reports
Egypt's football team moved into the quarter- finals of the World Military Championships, which it is hosting, following a 2-1 win over Cyprus. The victory gave Egypt six points, having beaten Guinea 1-0 in the opener, and an assured spot in round two even before meeting North Korea in its final preliminary game.
Against Egypt, the Cypriots found containment difficult
photos: Mohamed Mos'ad
Letting up in the third preliminary game offers the advantage of experimenting. "We will take the opportunity to try some players who did not participate in the last two games and try other tactics and employ a different game plan," Mohamed Omar, the team's head coach, told Al- Ahram Weekly. Omar is confident the team, the defending champion, can make it to the final. "The players are full of confidence especially since the event is being held at home. They are aiming to win the title for the third time and I am optimistic," Omar added.
One player Omar might not rest is in-form star forward Abdel-Hamid Bassiouni, who scored in both games and who played in the 1999 championship in Croatia.
Once Egypt finishes with North Korea, it is to play the second or third-place finisher in Group B, which is expected to be either Greece or Qatar.
In Egypt's Group A, the other three countries are scrambling for position. The Koreans have four points, Cyprus one and Guinea, the African military champion, zero.
Absent teams made news in the other two groups. In Port Said, venue of Group B matches, a last-minute withdrawal by Burkina Faso reduced the group to just three teams.
Greece, a five-time winner of the tournament, edged Qatar 1-0. The Gulf Arab state, with six internationals, had earlier crushed the US 5-0. Both Greece and Qatar are strong favourites to reach the quarter-final.
The Americans did not seem particularly perturbed by the result. In fact, the head of its delegation expressed confidence that it would beat the Greeks to reach the quarter-final. The people of Port Said, a duty-free city, will surely miss the Americans who have gone on huge shopping sprees.
Unlike Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire did show up in Egypt in a Group C encounter in Alexandria -- but were too late. A flight delay prevented the team from playing Germany. As a result, it defaulted, meaning Germany picked up three easy points. After arriving late, Cote D'Ivoire will now make an early departure after losing to the Ukraine 1-0.
With seven internationally capped players, Syria moved on to the quarters despite a goalless draw against the Ukraine. A 3-1 win over Germany paved the way for the Syrians to the quarter-final. Syrian coach Ahmed Al-Sha'ar told the Weekly the team has promised a surprise for football fans in Egypt. "We are here to make a run at the final. I would look to meet Egypt in the final no matter what the result is," Al-Sha'ar said.
Syria and the Ukraine have four points each after two games and must wait for the decisive third match to see who tops the group.
The quarter-finals were scheduled to start 30 June but were put off to the following day to allow football fans to watch Egypt's national team play Morocco in a crucial World Cup qualifier in Casablanca.
Major General Mustafa Kamel Fahmi, head of the Military Sports Body, told the Weekly that only the opening and closing matches were scheduled to be played at the Military Academy for aviation safety reasons. "The games are played at night and the floodlights may hamper flights to and from Cairo Airport, which is near the academy," Fahmi said.
© 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