Egypt's assistant coach Osama Nabih is optimistic about getting a positive result in the African Cup of Nations semifinal, although he warns that the Pharoahs' opponents, Burkina Faso, are among the strongest teams in Africa at present.
Egypt, seven-time African champions, ended a 31-year wait for a victory over North African rivals Morocco on Monday to reach the prestigious tournament's semis.
The Pharaohs will take on the Stallions on Wednesday in Libreville after the latter beat Tunisia 2-0 on Saturday.
"We try to achieve the best results and to reach the competitions final stage," Nabih told Egyptian TV channel ONSport on Monday.
"I feel optimistic that we are just one step away from the final," he added.
Nabih was a member of the Egypt squad that won the 1998 African cup in Burkina Faso, playing the whole match at the midfield in the 2-0 win over the hosts in the semifinal.
"Burkina Faso's team now is different than the one of 1998. I played against them in the semi final of the 1998 edition and they were building a new team at the time. Now they are among the top four in Africa," Nabih explained.
"We studied our opponents well and we hope we will proceed and succeed after much effort," he concluded.
Egypt won the last of their record seven titles in Angola in 2010 under former coach Hassan Shehata.
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