The Pharaohs are enjoying a glorious reign under coach Hassan Shehata, outshining several of Africa’s heavyweights to become the first team to win the Nations Cup three times on the trot.
They made a poor start to their 2012 Nations Cup qualifying campaign though, collecting just one point from possible six in Group G.
They were held to a 1-1 draw at home to minnows Sierra Leone before suffering a stunning 1-0 defeat at Niger, who are 92 places below them in FIFA’s ranking for national teams.
Worries that Egypt could face the unthinkable prospect of failing to qualify for Africa’s premier tournament surfaced but Gharib is adamant that his side would be able to reach the 2012 finals, which will take place in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
“We were the African champions for three successive times so failure to reach the 2012 Nations Cup will mean that Egyptian football is going 10 years backwards,” Shehata’s assistant said in an interview with Al-Ahram daily.
“We can’t accept that. I believe that we are capable of overcoming all obstacles and reaching the tournament despite the fierce competition.”
Egypt lie at the bottom of the group but could move level on four points with leaders South Africa if they beat them away from home next March.
Strike Problem
Lack of firepower looked to have undermined Egypt’s scoring abilities during the past few months.
Ahly’s Emad Meteb and Zamalek’s Amr Zaki are the preferred options for Shehata upfront but the duo have been suffering from niggling injuries which left the highly-successful tactician in a selection dilemma.
With the majority of Egyptian Premier League teams relying on foreign front men to deliver, there were few options for Shehata.
“This problem is very common in the Egyptian league,” Gharib, under whom Egypt’s U-20 team finished third in the 2001 World Cup, added.
“We are trying to overcome it through fielding several attacking midfielders such as Mohamed Abou-Treika, Mohamed Zidan and Gedo who have goal-scoring capabilities.”
Egypt will have a chance to continue experimenting with their squad before facing South Africa.
They will play Qatar in a friendly game on 17 December and are likely to face the United States in February next year.
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