Making their 13th appearance in the Olympics, the Egyptian team aims to secure their first-ever medal, with their best result being fourth place in Amsterdam 1928 and Tokyo 1964.

To enhance their chances, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) have appointed Brazilian coach Rogerio Micale, who previously guided the Brazilian U-23 team to a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro 2016.

"We dream of a medal in Paris," Micale told Al-Ahram Hebdo.

"I know it won't be easy, but we have to fight until we reach our goal, taking it step by step."

The first step will be taken on Wednesday, and on paper, the Egyptian side should not encounter many problems against the Dominican Republic, who are making their first appearance in the Olympics.

The Dominican team qualified in dramatic fashion after defeating Guatemala on penalties in the U-20 CONCACAF semi-final in 2022 before losing to the USA in the final.

The Egyptian team has many talented players, including Pyramids FC winger Ibrahim Adel, who was named the best player in the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations and also plays for the Pharaohs.

His teammate, midfielder Mahmoud Saber, is another standout player, along with Zamalek midfielder Mohamed Shehata.

However, the participation of Ahly midfielder Ahmed 'Kouka' Nabil in the game against the Dominican Republic remains uncertain due to a foot injury.

The Brazilian coach has named former Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny and Zamalek winger Ahmed 'Zizo' Sayed as senior players in the squad.

Micale expressed a desire to include a third player, such as Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah, Ahly's duo Emam Ashour and Mohamed Abdel-Moneam, or Pyramids FC winger Mostafa Fathi, but their clubs refused to release them.

"I am very satisfied with the players at my disposal, especially the senior players. Zizo and Elneny are excellent players who bring experience and quality to the team," Micale added.

The Egyptian team will face Uzbekistan on Saturday, July 27, before concluding their group stage campaign on Tuesday, July 30, against Spain.

"We need to achieve positive results in our first two games before facing Spain," noted Micale.

The team is well-prepared, having held a training camp over the past two weeks in France where they faced Ukraine 1-1 before defeating Iraq 2-1.

In the previous Olympics, held in Tokyo, Egypt reached the quarter-finals before losing 1-0 to Brazil.

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