A portion of the ticket sales for the friendly against Kenya went to the people of Gaza, Ahmed Morsy reports Six-time African champions Egypt, who played without their foreign-based players, had a trouble-free 1-0 home victory over Kenya in a friendly soccer game in Cairo Stadium on Friday. The game served as a warm-up for the African World Cup qualifiers whose final round is scheduled to begin in March. Egypt will meet Zambia on 28 March in Cairo; Egypt's second match is on 6 June against Algeria in Algiers. Rwanda is also in the qualifying group. A first-half header from Ahli's midfielder Ahmed Hassan gave Egypt the deserved win over Kenya in the 26th minute when Ahmed Eid's precise cross from the left found the unmarked Hassan, who headed home from close range. It was Hassan's 151st international cap. The second half was a dull affair as Kenya maintained their defensive approach while Egypt created few chances. The Pharaohs had to play without the likes of Amr Zaki, Mido, Hosni Abd-Rabou and Emad Meteb as the game was not included in FIFA's international match calendar. Egypt coach Hassan Shehata deployed a 4-4-2 formation, the strategy he usually uses during friendly games. He switches to his favoured 3-5-2 formation in official matches. Shehata fielded the entire 22-player squad in the game. Zamalek keeper Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed stood between the posts instead of regular guardian Essam El-Hadari. Ismaili's in-form midfielder Ahmed Khairi made his debut to partner Ahmed Fathi in the heart of Egypt's midfield. Haras Al-Hedoud's Ahmed Abdel-Ghani played as a lone striker and was supported by wide men Ahmed Eid and Mahmoud Abdel-Razek, known as Shikabala. Shehata introduced several new faces in the second half as Kenya posed no threat. Haras Al-Hedoud midfielder Mohamed El-Herda, Petrojet left-back Osama Hassan, Tersana striker Ahmed Abdel-Maguid and Enppi's Abdel-Aziz Tawfik, as well as Ismaili's striker Abdullah Said were all given a chance to prove their worth. The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced it was donating part of the gate from the friendly against Kenya to Gaza following its 22-day war with Israel. Two weeks ago, EFA President Samir Zaher met with a delegation from the Palestinian Football Association during which he stressed the total support of the Egyptian sports community to the people of Gaza against the Israeli aggression. He also informed the Palestinian delegation that the EFA has decided to donate part of the revenue from the country's other friendly matches to aid the people of Gaza. Several pundits questioned Shehata's decision not to include Ahli midfielder Mohamed Barakat despite his recent impressive displays. Egypt assistant coach Hamada Sedki said the 32-year-old midfielder is part of Shehata's plans for the upcoming period. "Today we gave a chance to many substitutes, and Barakat is not one of them," Sedki told Nile Sports channel after the game. "Barakat belongs to Egypt's regulars. He and Dortmund forward Mohamed Zidan will be part of the team's squad for the upcoming friendly against Ghana." Egypt will meet Ghana on 11 February as they prepare for the last phase of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Egypt will also be playing in the Confederation Cup in South Africa in June. Egypt is grouped with Italy, Brazil and the US. Barakat hasn't played a single game for Egypt since June 2006 due to disciplinary reasons. Shehata had accused him of deliberately skipping the Pharaohs' games and consequently dropped him from the squad. Teens out MEANTIME, Egypt's Under-20 team were agonisingly eliminated from the African Youth Championship's group stage despite a 2-1 victory over South Africa on Sunday in Rwanda. South Africa finished second in Group B, just one goal ahead of the young Pharaohs after both teams leveled on six points. Nigeria, who beat Ivory Coast 3-0 in the other group game, claimed top spot on goal difference as well after they also amassed six points. By reaching the semi-finals, Nigeria and South Africa qualified for the 2009 FIFA U- 20 World Cup which will be hosted by Egypt in September. Earlier, Egypt's U-20 team succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Nigeria in their first game in Rwanda. However, they came back from a goal down to grab a late 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast in their second match. Ghana, which finished top of Group A, will face the runners-up from Group B, South Africa. Cameroon finished second in Group A and will play the winners of Group B, Nigeria, in the last four. Both semi-finals were scheduled for Wednesday. Ghana and Cameroon also qualified for the U-20 World Cup.
