In form and style
Egypt swept a football tournament in Bahrain that included an encounter with Iraq, reports Nashwa Abdel-Tawab
Egypt's Tamer Abdel-Hamid, left, is chased by Iraq's Abbas Hassan during their match in Manama
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Egypt snatched Bahrain's Prime Minister's Cup with a perfect nine-point record after beating Iraq 2-0, thanks to goals in each half by striker Ahmed Bilal.
None of three teams in the three-year-old, four- team tournament posed any serious threat to Egypt which was participating in the event for the first time and which was playing without its foreign-based players.
The Egyptians blanked both Kenya and Bahrain 1-0 in their first two games to finish with three straight shutouts.
Egyptian officials saw the tournament as a good opportunity to prepare for the 2004 African Nations Cup starting next month in Tunisia.
However, none of the European-based players flew to Bahrain because of club obligations. "I knew many of our key players would not play in the tournament," said Mohsen Saleh, Egypt's manager, "but I think we benefited greatly from taking part. It was a chance to see new players in our squad and winning the title gave them added confidence."
Iraq and Bahrain drew with four points each and had an equal goal difference but, sympathising with Iraq, the organisers awarded the country second place because of the chaotic nature the post-war country is in. Bahrain came third, followed by Kenya which finished last after losing 1-0 to Egypt, 2-0 to Iraq and 2-1 to the hosts.
Egypt's victory in Bahrain followed 15 friendlies and four African Cup qualifiers under Saleh. The breakdown is a credible 11 victories, four losses and four draws. November friendlies included a 1-0 victory over Sweden and an earlier 2-1 win over South Africa.
Egypt will meet the French team Lille on 31 December, then will camp in Port Said because of the city's similar weather as Tunisia. There it will meet the Congo, Rwanda and Burkina Faso. The coming four friendlies will be the last for Egypt before the ANC begins.
The Egyptians, who are aiming for a record fifth cup, have been drawn in Group C alongside defending champions Cameroon, 1990 winners Algeria and debutantes Zimbabwe.
The Olympic football team, meanwhile, is going in the other direction than that of the seniors -- down. The squad may not be able to qualify for the 2004 Olympics after losing to Senegal 2-0 last week. A first round loss to Nigeria was suffered last month.
The team was a bronze medalist in the 2001 World Youth Cup and a gold medalist at the 1999 All-Africa Games.
