Expecting the best

Experts agree Egypt will reach the quarter-finals of the African Nations Cup. They gave their reasons to Abeer Anwar
When Egypt plays Zambia today, at stake will be a quarter-final berth in the African Nations Cup. Senegal has already bagged its place in the last eight following a 1-0 victory over Zambia last Saturday. Thus, the battle is for the second qualifying spot -- in football, many times, the bridesmaid is also a winner.
Egypt's three points after two games have pushed it into second while Zambia and Tunisia have collected just one point each. But while Egypt's grip on second place is firm, it is by no means an iron grip. Only when the final whistle blows on today's last two matches in Group D, the so-called Group of Death -- Egypt against Zambia and Senegal vs Tunisia -- will the survivor be known.
History is definitely on Egypt's side. The country has won the cup a record four times; Zambia has never lifted the trophy. Egypt has entered the tournament more often than any other country and has never failed to reach the quarter-finals. In head-on confrontations with Zambia, Egypt also holds a distinct edge. In the 18 times it has met Zambia, it has won nine games, lost six and drawn three times.
In the Nations Cup in particular, Egypt handily beat Zambia 3-1 in 1974 in Cairo. In 1992 and 1996, Zambia stole both shows, winning 3-0 and 3-1. But in 1998 in Burkina Faso, the last time Egypt won the cup, it crushed Zambia 4-0 following a hat-trick by Hossam Hassan. Egypt was also on the winning end the last time the two met, winning 2-0 in the 2000 edition of the Nations Cup.
Dahshouri Harb, head of the Egyptian Football Federation (EFA), sees no reason why Egypt should not be able to put Zambia away. "I think we'll win if we play the way we did against Tunisia in the first half," Harb told the Weekly. But he conceded Zambia would not be easy prey. "Although they play haphazardly, they are very enthusiastic and move quickly. You can never predict what they will be like."
The former EFA head, Samir Zaher, felt the game would go Egypt's way. "I think we'll have the upper hand. Zambia is a humble team. All are juniors. We have the experience but we have to press and control the ball. We should not do what we did against Tunisia when we attacked very well in the first half and defended very well in the second. We have to play equally well throughout the match and not lose hope."
"In football, there are no easy or difficult matches. It's all on the pitch," Hassan El-Mistekawi, head of the sports section at Al- Ahram newspaper, said. "The Zambians play quick football and are always attacking but I think we have a good chance against them."
"After losing to Senegal, Zambia lost hope of qualifying so we should take advantage of this. Our team is better as it comprises professional and experienced players while theirs is full of juniors. I think the upper hand in this match goes to experience, not enthusiasm," El-Mistekawi added.
El-Mistekawi and Harb believed the appearance of Hassan, who might play against Zambia following injury, would be of paramount importance.
That Egypt is poised to join the last eight is directly attributed to its historic 1-0 win against Tunisia on Friday, the first time Egypt had beaten its North African rival since 1988.
"We lost a number of chances to score," El-Mistekawi said of the Tunisian match. "We should have won by three or four goals which would have made our position better, especially if Tunisia gets by Senegal, but we resorted to defence to preserve the lead. The Tunisians' defense was the worst I've seen, but our players were too hesitant to take advantage."
Egypt scored its goal against Tunisia through Hazim Emam on 23 minutes, after Tunisia had failed to clear a cross from the left. Emam had time to control the ball on a bobbly surface of Modibo Keita stadium before firing past Shokri Al-Ouaer.
Tunisia's best chance in the opening period fell the way of Raouf Bouzaene, whose left foot snap tested keeper Essam El-Hadari.
That aside, Tunisia's efforts were restricted to a hopeful long- distance shot which failed to trouble El-Hadari.
Tunisian striker Jamel Zabi had a goal ruled out for offside just after the break. But the best chances fell to Egypt as Yasser Radwan hit the post and Tarek El-Sayed fired the rebound just wide.
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