The test to come
Egypt bashed Qatar but the real thing still lies ahead, writes Eric Asomugha
The crucial away match in the Mauritius city of Flacq on Saturday is one that coach Mohsen Saleh and his boys must win to keep alive Egypt's hopes of reaching the finals of the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia.
Drawn in Group 10 with Mauritius and Madagascar, Egypt occupies the last place following a 1-0 loss to Madagascar last July in Antananarivo. Madagascar tops the group with a perfect six points while Mauritius is at the bottom end with no points.
A win in Flacq will put Egypt in a more comfortable position since its two remaining matches against Mauritius and Madagascar will be played in Cairo. On the other hand, a draw or loss in Flacq is suicidal for Egypt because Madagascar plays its last match at home against the weak Mauritius after visiting Egypt.
Saleh came under strong criticism after a dismal 5-1 loss to Denmark in Cairo last month in a friendly. Despite the odds, the soft-spoken coach, who was voted the best in Egypt for leading Ismaili last year to their first league title in more than a decade, accomplishing what foreign coaches failed to do, managed to redeem himself by crushing Qatar 6-0 last week in another warm-up in Port Said.
Apparently, the victory reduced the tension between the coach and his critics, but some observers maintain that the Qatari team, which consisted of players mainly from the just concluded Asian Champions League, was not a true test of Egypt's strength but rather a cosmetic performance that only succeeded in hiding the team's defects.
However, beating Qatar convincingly is likely to be a morale booster as the team heads for Mauritius. Moreover, the win, without key players including Hazem Emam, Ayman Abdel- Aziz, Hani Said, Ahmed 'Mido' Hossam, who was recently loaned to La Liga's Celta Vigo from Ajax, and Mohamed Barakat, is an indication of the team's determination to excel.
Meanwhile, Saleh will first have to face the difficult task of selecting the 18-man squad. Hadi Khashaba is back after a two-year absence. Gamal Hamza, Ahmed Salah Hosni, Mohamed Gouda and Abdel-Halim Ali are some of the certainties.
Egypt is one of 46 teams fighting for a place in the finals. The participating countries are divided into seven groups of four teams and six groups of three teams. The 13 group winners and the best of the groups formed of four teams qualify for the final tournament in Tunisia.
Egypt has participated in 19 of the 23 finals, more than any other African nation. It is also four-time champions, once runners-up and thrice a third place winner. Egypt tops Confederation of African Football (CAF) all-time ranking with 93 points garnered from 69 games.
C a p t i o n : The thrashing of Qatar calmed things down somewhat for Saleh
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 27 March - 2 April 2003 (Issue No. 631)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/631/sp3.htm