Despite suffering a 3-2 defeat to Morocco in the U-23 African Championship semifinal on Wednesday, Egypt Olympic team coach Hany Ramzy thanked his players for their effort during the match.

“I’ll show my players the mistakes they committed so they can avoid them against Senegal,” Ramzy told journalists.

Egypt can keep alive their dream of qualifying directly for the London Olympics, their first for 20 years, by beating Senegal on Saturday in the third-place playoff match.

Senegal lost 1-0 to Gabon in the other semi-final on Tuesday.

“The Senegal game could be our gateway to the 2012 London Olympic Games,” said Ramzy.

The winner, runner-up, and third place teams at the championship will qualify directly for London, whilst the forth place team will face an Asian representative over two legs to secure a final place at the tournament.

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