The first ever CAF in U-23 Championship gets underway on Saturday 26th November in Tangiers, Morocco with Nigeria taking on hosts Morocco in group A. The other two teams in the group , Algeria and Senegal clash after the opener at the same venue, Grand Stade de Tangiers.
Egypt vs Gabon | Egypt vs Gabon 27/11/2011
(The match will be live on nile sports)
Egypt U-23 coach Hany Ramzy has revealed his players are fit to compete in the African Championship and earn a spot at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Egypt’s Olympic team, which hasn’t qualified for the Olympic Games since 1992, has been drawn in Group A of the eight-team African qualifying tournament alongside the Ivory Coast, South Africa and Gabon.
“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, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa.
“The matches will be tough but, as I said before, if we get off to a good start in the opening game against Gabon, it will be a huge boost for us.” -Ramzy Said
Egypt Squad:
Goalkeepers: Ahmed El-Shennawey (Masry), Aly Lotfy (ENPPI), Aly Fathy
Defenders: Saad Samir (Arab Contractors), Moaz El-Hennawy (Maqassa), Mohamed Belal (Ahly), Ahmed Hegazy (Ismaily), Ahmed Sobhy (ENPPI).
Midfielders: Ahmed Shoukry (Ahly), Ahmed Hamoudy (Smouha), Shehab Ahmed (Ahly), Hossam Hassan (Masry), Hisham Mohamed (Smouha), Islam Ramadan (Haras El-Hodoud), Ahmed Mgdy (Ghazl El-Mehalla), Amr Soulia (Ismaily), Mohamed Salah (Arab Contractors), Mohamed Sobhy (ENNPI).
Strikers: Ahmed Sherweida (Masry), Marwan Mohsen (Petrojet), Hossam Arafat (Zamalek), Mohamed El-Ninny (Arab Contractors), Marawan Mohsen (Petrojet), Ahmed Koka (Rio Ave FC, Portugal).
Morocco vs Nigeria
Moroccan coach Pim Verbeek was non-committal about his charges’ prospects in the opening match choosing to talk of the tough encounter ahead of his team. “¨We did not get positive results from our preparation match against Senegal and l would like us to play better” said the Dutch coach. We have pressure to deal with ahead of this match and Nigeria is q good side so l am hopeful we can turn it round and perform well on Saturday. ” said Verbeek.
Nigeria’s Uder-23 coach Austin Eguavoen was also playing down his team’s chances of victory and pointed to added pressure on his team to succeed due to an unusual underperformance by Nigeria teams at major competitions recently.
“Yes were are under pressure and as coach I’m under a lot of pressure but I have been under pressure before and I’ve been able to deal with it the main difference this time round though is that is this is the only chance for Nigeria to redeem itself on football scene and all eyes are on us to do well and this makes it a little more difficult for the boys and l.” said Eguavoen
Algeria vs Senegal
Algeria and Senegal meet in the second match of the first U-23 African Championship in the Moroccan city of Tangiers tomorrow night (26th November). Senegalese coach Abdoulaye Sarr was in confident mood ahead of the match and said that his team was in Morocco to win. Sarr was keen to mention that the tournament has unfortunately been deprived of the best sides , all teams could have brought had all players been permitted by their clubs. Echoing the sentiments shared by almost all the coaches at the tournament, Sarr said, “ We will start this tournament with only three professional players. I wish I had all the players available but l have to make do with the squad l have here” said Sarr.
The winners will qualify directly for the London games. The runners-up in the two groups will face each other for the remaining place.
The losing team in the runners-up playoff game will still have a chance to qualify against an Asian representative in a two-legged tie.
