It's getting serious for the Egyptian national football team. After losing their debut against Tunisia 1-0 in the African qualifications for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations last month, the Pharaohs are looking to progress in the qualifications for 2018 World Cup in Russia next summer. The runner-up of 2017 in Gabon are so far leading their World Cup group which includes Ghana, Congo and Uganda. Egypt has six points after two precious wins, an away 1-0 victory against Congo and a 2-0 win at home against arch rivals Ghana. The coming four months will witness tough competition across the world as all continents will be wrapping up their qualifications. According to Ihab Leheta, team manager of the Pharaohs, Egypt will first take on Uganda in the third round of the qualifications in an away game. “We play away first on 31 August in Kampala and we have decided to travel with a private plane as we will need to return immediately after the game to prepare for hosting the Uganda team for the second leg game which has been scheduled to take place at Borg-El-Arab Stadium on 5 September,” Leheta told Al-Ahram Weekly. The team manager flies to Uganda on Sunday to check on the training pitches and the match stadium as well as the accommodation allocated for the national team. The visit will also include meetings with the Uganda football federation officials and the Egyptian Ambassador of Egypt to Uganda. The seven-time African champions Egypt play Congo second in the first week of October. The match date of that second leg match is yet to be set by CAF. The second leg against their toughest opponent Ghana will be the last for the Pharaohs which will conclude the qualifications. The game is scheduled to be held at Borg El-Arab Stadium in Alexandria as will be all matches in the second week of November. The date is yet to be announced. According to Egypt's situation in its group, the country could secure its qualification with only two more wins in the remaining four matches because that would give them a total of 12 points. On the other hand, on a junior level, the young Pharaohs have just ended their training camp in Jordan in preparation for the African championships. During the one-week camp, the Egyptians played two friendly games against their Jordanian counterparts where they won the first 1-0 and played to a scoreless draw in the second match. According to the team coach Hamada Sedki, the results of the two matches were satisfactory for him and the team had the chance to get to know each other well. “I also had the chance to test all my players and see the harmony among them and know the capabilities and potential of each to get a clear picture for a line-up for the official matches,” said Sedki, the former assistant coach of the senior Pharaohs from 2004 until 2011. Furthermore, the Egyptian Football Association has signed a historic sponsorship deal with one of the largest marketing companies in Egypt with a deal worth over LE405 million. The five-year contract gives the marketing company ‘Presentation' all marketing, advertising and broadcasting rights to the EFA's football activities until the end of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Altogether, three bidders had applied to win the rights but the bid went to the highest offer of the eventual winning sponsor.
