Egypt fly to Senegal to begin Africa Cup of Nations bid

Eslam Omar, Tuesday 2 Sep 2014

The record holders are bidding for a return to the Africa Cup of Nations after missing two editions

Mohamed Salah
A photo posted by Chelsea star Mohamed Salah featuring him and some of his teammates

The Egyptian National team are heading to Senegal Tuesday to play their first match in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) qualifiers.

"Despite the difficulty of our opponents, our target is to lead the group," the Pharaohs coach Shawky Gharib told Al-Ahram Sports Tuesday.

Egypt are in Group G along with Tunisia, Senegal and Botswana.

Gharib has announced the final squad for the Senegal clash eliminating Ahly midfielder Mahmoud Hassan 'Trezeguet' and Sporting defender Rami Rabia.

Zamalek left winger Mohamed Abdel-Shafy will also miss the game due to injury.

Youngster Saleh Gomaa was released from senior duty as he is participating with Hossam El-Badry's boys in their bid for the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics games.

The team is taking a private jet amid Ebola fears as Senegal recorded its first case this week.

Gharib — who won the CAN three times in a row (2006, 2008 and 2010) as an assistant to coach Hassan Shehata — is bidding for a return to the top. The team missed the last two editions in 2012 and 2013 under Shehata and American manager Bob Bradley respectively.

The final squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Essam El-Hadary, Ahmed El-Shennawy, Sherif Ekrami and Amir Abdel-Hamid

Defenders: Shawky El-Said, Ahmed Said 'Oka', Hazem Emam, Sabri Rahil, Ahmed Fathi, Ahmed Elmohamady, Ahmed Hegazy and Ali Ghazal

Midfielders: Ibrahim Abdel-Khalek, Momen Zakaria, Omar Gaber, Hossam Ghaly, Hosni Abd-Rabou, Mohamed El-Nenny, Ahmed Hamoudy and Mahmoud Abdel-Monem 'Kahraba'

Forwards: Khaaled Kamar, Mohamed Salah. Hany El-Ogazy, Amr Gamal, Ahmed Hassan 'Koka' and Mahmoud Abdel-Razik 'Shikabala'

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)

 

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