Egypt Under-23 national team coach Hani Ramzy expressed satisfaction over the result of the 2012 London Olympic draw held Tuesday in Wembley Stadium, London.
The Young Pharaohs, who returned to the most prestigious tournament after an absence of 20 years, will be in the same group as Brazil, Belarus and New Zealand.
“The group is really balanced and playing against Brazil is always a pleasure. I expect an entertaining game for both players and fans,” Ramzy told Egyptian TV Tuesday afternoon.
“We shouldn’t underestimate Belarus and New Zealand because the two teams combine very good footballers,” he insisted.
Watch Hany Ramzy’s comments on Group C Draw:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_6GoX7yBvM[/youtube]The top two teams in Group C will be playing against the qualified from Group D that combines powerful teams Spain, Japan, Honduras and Morocco.
Brazil triumphed at the 2011 South American Youth Championship to make their way to the games, with an Olympic gold the only major football tournament the nation has yet to win, claiming two silver and two bronze medals in the last 30 years. Egypt is the African team who have qualified the most times for the games (11), but this will be their first appearance in 20 years and they are yet to claim a medal. Belarus make their first appearance at the games. They were the surprise package at the UEFA European U-21 Football Championships, qualifying from their group by the tightest of margins before going on to beat the Czech Republic in the Olympic play-off. New Zealand make their second successive appearance, having never qualified for a tournament before Beijing 2008.
The groups
Men’s Olympic Football Tournament
Group A: Great Britain, Senegal, UAE, Uruguay
Group B: Mexico, Korea Republic, Gabon, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Egypt, Belarus, New Zealand
Group D: Spain, Japan, Honduras, Morocco
