The coach of the Egyptian national team, Shawky Gharib, has revealed that he is working hard to pick new young players for the 2015 African Cup of Nations squad, to build a team that can regain Egypt’s former glory.

The Egyptian replaced American Bob Bradley in November following Egypt's failure to reach this year's World Cup finals in Brazil.

Gharib’s preparatory campaign for the 2015 African Cup of Nations in Morocco is off to a flying start, with a 2-0 win over Bosnia in Austria earlier this month in a friendly game.

"I will name new faces to join the Egypt squad during the coming friendlies, as they will help the team to continue winning," Gharib told an Egyptian television channel.

Egypt is hoping to usher in a new era of continental success, after the retirement of several figures from its golden generation such as Mohamed Abou-Treika and Ahmed Hassan.

"I am working hard to put the national team on their right track and to compete again on the title," said the new coach.

"We will be ready for any game, as we are preparing well," he added.

Under the helm of Gharib, the Pharaohs have their first international commitment in September - the first round of the African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

"We will hold our coming camp in Chile for ten days next May as we will play friendlies against Chile and one of Colombia, Costa Rica and Ecuador," Gharib announced.

Salah praise

The former Egypt U-20 boss also praised the performance of his team’s star Mohamed Salah who scored his first goal with the Blues during their 6-0 win over Arsenal in the English Premier League on Saturday.

"It's an honour for Egypt’s national team to have a player like Salah in the squad," he said.

"I expect Salah will have a great future with Chelsea in the English Premier League," Gharib added.

Thoughts on Clasico

The 55-year-old tactician also said that he expected Real Madrid to beat Barcelona in Spain Clasico on Sunday, despite his support for the Catalonia side, as Real Madrid are “technically superior.”

"The coaches' experience also will finish the game, as Real Madrid's Ancelotti is more experienced than Barcelona's Martino," he added.

Real Madrid are in the driving seat of the Spain La Liga with 70 points, four over arch-rivals Barcelona who are third in the table.

"If Real Madrid win tonight they will secure the La Liga title,” the tactician concluded.

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