Egypt VS Mozambique Match Preview
At Borg El Arab Stadium | 1 Jun 2012 – 20:00 (Cairo Time) EET | 2PM ET (Canada/USA) Time
The match will be live on www.NileSports.tv and right here on NileSports.com
The Group G opener signals the competitive debut of Bob Bradley as Egypt manager.
The match is held at the Army Stadium, which for the first time ever hosts a competitive game for the Egypt first team.
Kenyan referee Sylvester Kirwa will be in charge of the game in Alexandria.
The match will be played behind closed doors upon the recommendation of FIFA and CAF, amid the political instability Egypt is witnessing.
Egypt met Mozambique three times, winning every game 2-0 en route to three Africa Cup of Nations triumphs in 1986, 1998 and 2010.
Egypt are unbeaten at home since June 2004 when a Didier-Drogba-inspired Ivory Coast won 2-1 in a 2006 World Cup qualifier in Alexandria.
German coach Gert Engels still maintains an unbeaten record in competitive matches with Mozambique since taking charge late in 2011.
Bob Bradley:
“Unfortunately we play this game in difficult circumstances,” Egypt coach Bob Bradley said this week in an interview with the Confederation of African Football’s website.
“I have asked [the players] to forget about the political situation and focus on the match. I asked them to win and bring happiness to Egyptians.
“They are dreaming of World Cup qualification and we have to make their dreams true. We’re going to miss our fans in this game, but we promise to do our best to make them happy.” he added.
Gert Engels:
“I think the team is very well-motivated. The players have been training with a lot of motivation, with a lot of fun. I think there has been good work.
“I think the mental part will be very important. We are lowly, Egypt are above us, so I told the players if we want to win, we need to be mentally stronger than them. We need to move and be willing to work hard in the game.”
Egypt are likely to be without skipper Ahmed Hassan, who picked up a thigh injury in training this week.
Defense star Wael Gomaa is out with a knee injury, while his replacement Adam El-Abd is still ineligible to make his Egypt bow.
Goalie Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed pulled out of the squad for family reasons, leaving Essam Al-Hadari, Ahmed Al-Shennawi and Sherif Ekrami to vie for a place between the posts.
Mozambique will be without promising defender Clesio due to suspension, following a red card in a U-20 fixture.
