The Egyptian national football team will play their Liberian counterpart in a friendly on Thursday at Borg El-Arab Stadium as a part of the team’s preparations for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
Egypt will face Libya twice (home and away) on 8 and 11 October in the African qualifiers for the World Cup.
Egypt held, on Tuesday, their training camp for the game at Borg El Arab Stadium under the leadership of new Portuguese head coach Carlos Queiroz. The camp started with an acquaintance session between the new coach and the local players, during which the coach talked about the next stage, his training method and policy, and that everyone has to show commitment and follow instructions. This training camp was the first for the Portuguese coach with the Pharaohs.
Queiroz earlier requested of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to play a friendly in order to better prepare his players, especially those playing with local clubs, for the World Cup qualifiers.
Queiroz held a meeting with the team’s Argentine physician Rodrigo to discuss the recovery system of the players in the coming period, especially since the team will play several matches in a short period.
The Liberia game will help Queiroz to select the best squad for the coming period. The coaching staff of the team was also keen to watch video tapes of previous matches for the Libyan national team, to define the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent, and put the best game plan to ensure qualification for the World Cup.
Queiroz announced during a press conference held at the beginning of the training camp that Liverpool star Mohamed Salah will continue as the national team’s captain in the coming period, attributing his decision to Salah’s football achievements with his country and club. Queiroz also stressed that international player call-ups will be decided based on only performance.
Earlier in September, EFA appointed Queiroz as the new head coach of the national football team, in succession to Hosam El-Badry. The Portuguese coach has worked with Manchester United and Real Madrid, and has coached the national teams of Portugal, Colombia, Iran, and South Africa, amongst others. Egypt’s coaching staff also includes Diaa Elsayed as general coach, Mohamed Shawky as assistant coach, Essam El Hadary as goalkeeping coach, and Wael Gomaa as general manager.
