The Egyptian national U-23 team will face Gabon in the opening game of Group B in the �U-23 African Championship, which will decide the continent�s representative in the London Games.
The match will be live online only on: www.nilesports.tv
Egypt play in Group B along with Gabon, Ivory Coast and South Africa.
�Of course, I won�t deny that we wanted the tournament to be held in Egypt,� Ramzy said in an interview with the official website of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
�Playing at home in front of your supporters would have given our young players a huge boost, but we just have to take this as a new challenge.
�Morocco is an Arab country and I know the Moroccan public will get behind us, especially since we�ve been drawn in Group B with Gabon, C�te d’Ivoire and South Africa.�
The two finalists and the third-placed team will directly qualify for the London Games while the fourth will have to overcome an Asian representative in a two-legged tie.
�It is a big dream for us to have both targets together by winning the title and qualifying for the Olympics,� former Egypt defender Ramzy added.
�Twenty-year absence is unlike of a team of the caliber of Egypt, especially with the performance of the Team a at the Africa cup of Nations.
�This generation can give a good image for Egyptian football in the coming years.�
Egypt�s U-23 side can take heart from experiencing football at the top level, having represented Egypt�s senior team during the last two matches of the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Under Ramzy�s guidance, Egypt lost 2-1 at Sierra Leone before crushing Niger 3-0 at home.
Egypt�s squad boasts several promising players, including goalkeeper Ahmed El-Shennawy who made his senior team debut in the 2-0 friendly defeat by five-time world champions Brazil earlier this month.
Arab Contractors forward Mohamed Salah and Zamalek�s attacking midfielder Mohamed Ibrahim have also earned plaudits for their superb displays at the U-20 World Cup earlier this year.
Egypt have injury worries over defender Saad Samir and midfielders Ahmed Hamoudy and Amr El-Solaya.
�We made arrangements for such misfortunes, hence coming with 24-players despite the fact that only 21 are registered for the tournament,� Ramzy commented.
