Egypt's Olympic team host Sudan in London Games qualifiers

Egypt's Olympic team eyes a home win to reach the group stage at the expense of tough-to-beat neighbouring Sudan

Egypt are taking nothing for granted as they host Sudan in the 2012 London Games qualifiers second-round second leg in Alexandria on Saturday.
The Pharaohs were lucky to avoid a defeat in the first leg after surviving a flurry of late Sudan attacks as the match ended goalless, a result that put them in pole position to qualify for the group stage.
However, given Sudan's convincing first-leg performance, Egypt are aware their task will not be easy.
“We are determined to win this game, although we know that we will face a tough opponent,” former Zamalek and Ahly midfielder Tarek El-Saied, the assistant of Egypt head coach Hany Ramzy, told Reuters.
“Ramzy told the players to be cautious because Sudan are a very good side. We are aware of their strength points.”
Sudan, on other hand, are confident they can cause an upset and beat Egypt in Alexandria, despite failing to score in the first leg.
“We want to maintain our fine run of form, which saw us beat Ghana away from home in the previous round, despite a 1-1 home draw,” Sudan coach Mohamed Mohiuddin said ahead of the match, which will be played at Haras El-Hodoud's Max Stadium.
“The win over Ghana gave us a huge morale boost. We have the sufficient skills and experience to embarrass Egypt on their home soil.
“We told the players they have to forget everything about the first leg and concentrate on the task ahead of them. We will adopt an attacking strategy but we have to be cautious at the back to avoid conceding a goal that would ruin our mission.”
Egypt have not qualified for the Olympic Games since 1992.