CAIRO: The friendly Nile Basin tournament began on Wednesday with hosts Egypt aiming to warm up for a crucial 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers campaign this year.
Hassan Shehata’s men entertain Tanzania in Group A, which also includes African minnows Uganda and Burundi.
Despite the insignificance of the regional tournament, the Egypt manager is hoping to make good use of it ahead of a decisive qualifier in South Africa in March.
“The manager spoke with the players and asked them to be focused, because this is no friendly tournament,” Egypt’s second man Shawki Gharib said.
“We are in a pre-match camp for the decisive South Africa encounter.
“He also told the players to keep up the hard work with their respective clubs after the tournament.”
The tournament takes place amid some unrest after Egypt was rocked by an orthodox church bombing in Alexandria on Saturday.
Players will be wearing black bands around their arms in tribute for the 23 victims of the atrocious attack, as the competition goes under the slogan of ‘Say no to terrorism’.
Team news
Egypt could be without Ahly captain Hossam Ghaly, who picked up a back injury in training this week.
Ismaili ace Abdullah Saied is another injury doubt as MCDR’s Ayman Hefni is set to miss out due to a problem with his army status.
Shehata will decide on whether to apply a 4-4-2 formation or go for the traditional 3-5-2, with Ghaly tipped to fill in the sweeper’s role.
The African champions will be without Europe-based players, most notably Borussia Dortmund’s Mohamed Zidan and Sunderland’s Ahmed Elmohamady, who are both committed to their respective clubs.
Earlier on Wednesday, Burundi take on Uganda at the Military Academy Stadium.
