Egypt use football friendlies to prepare for serious contests ahead

Mahmoud Mohamed, Thursday 13 Jan 2011

Egypt's U-17 and Olympic teams to play three games in the coming days as Shehata looks to pick his best 18 during the Nile Basin tournament to face South Africa

Egypt

Technical manager Hassan Shehata is watching his 23-men squad in the Nile Basin tournament to choose the best 18 players for the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa next March.

“We don’t care about the results as we are paying attention to the players’ performance,” Egypt assistant coach Shawky Gharib was quoted as saying on the FA's official site.

“Long camps like participating in the Nile Basin tournament help us in setting up the players’ harmony and choosing the more affective players,” Gharib added.  

In the young pharaohs' training, Egypt U-17 national team are set to face North Korea in a friendly on Saturday amid their preparations for the African World Cup qualifiers in Libya next March.

Additionally, the Olympic national team will play Burundi and China on Thursday and Sunday respectively as they are training for the 2012 Olympic championship that will take place in London.

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