The world’s most capped player, Ahmed Hassan, has said Egypt's bid to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will be tough but the Pharaohs are determined to succeed.

The winners of seven African Cup of Nations (CAN) trophies kick off their race to the World Cup against Mozambique at Alexandria's Borg El-Arab stadium on Friday.

“It’s going to be a tough game. First games are always difficult, especially in qualifiers. The current situation makes it even more difficult. We will play behind closed doors and we lack competitive football because all domestic competitions have been cancelled in Egypt. But we’re determined to win and I hope we overcome all these hurdles,” Hassan told the official website of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

In addition to football hooliganism, which reached its peak at the Port Said tragedy when more than 70 Ahly fans were killed and hundreds injured, Egypt is still suffering unrest as it witnesses the first presidential elections since the ousting of former president Hosni Mubarak.

“Sometimes you get forced by circumstances to make the most of difficult situations. I believe we have done the best we could under the circumstances. During our preparation we didn’t play against first class teams, but that was the best we could do under the current circumstances. I believe our preparation was not too bad and we increased the harmony between the players,” the 37-year old midfielder added.

Beside Mozambique, the Pharaohs are drawn with Zimbabwe and Guinea in World Cup qualifiers.

“We respect all teams without looking at their names. African football has developed so much and what matters now is the performance not the names. It’s a tough group because the teams in Africa have a different approach. We remember that in the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifiers we lost to Niger and Sierra Leone even though they were low ranking teams. We should not underestimate any team,” the former Anderlecht player explained.

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