Egypt’s U23 football team skipper Ahmed Hegazi said on Monday that the Pharaohs are determined to fight until the end to advance through the Tokyo Olympic Games despite the poor start of the team.

The Pharaohs' hopes of qualifying for the quarterfinal were dealt a blow after Sunday's 0-1 loss to Argentina in their second Group C game of the Tokyo Olympics. The team also held to a 0-0 draw in their opening match against European heavyweights Spain.

“We will fight and play till the last second,” defender Hegazi, who currently plays at Ittihad Jeddah on loan from Premier League side West Bromwich, said via his Twitter account just two days ahead of facing Australia in the third match of the qualifying round.

Egypt is playing in Group C, which includes Argentina and Australia, along with Spain.

Egypt now lies at the bottom with one point, two behind third placed Argentina. Spain leads the group with four points, while Australia lies second with three points.

The Egyptian team is in a must win situation now to beat Australia in their final group match on Wednesday to stand a chance of booking a last-eight berth.

“We will qualify for the next round,” former Ahly player Hegazi added.

The 30-year-old Hegazi is representing Egypt at the prestigious Tokyo event among the three over-age players selected by the team’s coach Shawky Gharib.

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