Egypt and Benin meet for the first time in a 2006 World Cup qualification match. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab previews the encounter Egypt and Benin, who have never met before, make acquaintances on Sunday in Cotonou in the third game of the African qualifications for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Egypt, who won their opener 3-0 away to Sudan before losing 2-1 to Ivory Coast at home, will hope to get back to winning ways on 4 July when they play Benin who are tied with Sudan and Libya with one point each. Egypt are in third place in Group C with three points, three behind top of the table Ivory Coast. Cameroon have four points. The Ivory Coast are the only team in Africa's qualifying campaign to have won their first two matches after their 2- 0 win over Libya in their opening game. Next up is a tough trip to Cameroon on Sunday. Egypt's Italian coach Marco Tardelli believes the Pharaohs can still make it to the World Cup in Germany despite the loss to the Ivory Coast. "My players played a world-class game," Tardelli said of the Ivory Coast encounter. "They did their best and we did not deserve to lose," he said. "The players are improving and I think we still have a chance of reaching Germany 2006 ... They will be attacking more." But one attacker is already out of the line-up. Ahmed "Mido" Hossam, the star attraction at Marseilles in France, will miss the Benin encounter because of injury. Tardelli's optimism contrasts with the prediction of Cameroon's German coach Winfred Scheiffer who was in attendance in Alexandria Stadium to watch the game with Ivory Coast. Scheiffer forecast that Benin would win 1-0. Earlier in the month, Tardelli made known that no player in Zamalek or Ismaili, who both made it to the final stages of the Arab Champions League, would be released from the national camp. "Our top priority is the World Cup qualifiers," the Italian had said. "The Arab Champions League is more or less a friendly competition." However, the federation and the clubs overruled Tardelli. The result was that players from Zamalek and Ismaili joined the camp late and exhausted after playing three games in five days in the Arab Champions League. Squad Goalkeepers: Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed (Zamalek), Essam El-Hadari (Ahli), Mohamed Abdel-Monsef (Zamalek) Defenders: Ahmed El-Sayed, Wael Gomaa (Ahli), Beshir El-Tabei (Zamalek), Abdel-Zaher El-Saqqa (Genclebirligi), Mohamed Abdel-Wahab (Enppi), Islam El- Shater (Ittihad Jeddah), Tarek El-Sayed (Zamalek), Hosni Abd-Rabbo, Ahmed Fathi (Ismaili) Midfielders: Mohamed Abdalla, Mohamed Hommos (Ismaili), Hossam Ghali (Feyenoord), Mohamed Shawki, Hassan Mustafa (Ahli), Hazem Emam (Zamalek), Ahmed Hassan (Besiktas) Strikers: Abdel-Halim Ali (Zamalek), Amr Zaki (Enppi), Mohamed Mohsen Abu-Greisha (Ismaili), Mohamed Abu- Treika, Osama Hosni (Ahli)
