CAIRO: Mohamed Zidan has been given the green light to return to Egypt s fold, coach Hassan Shehata said on Saturday. The Borussia Dortmund striker fell out of favor with Shehata after skipping a friendly game against Guinea in August. He did not explain his action to further infuriate the highly-respected tactician, who left him out of Egypt s squad for the World Cup qualifier against Zambia. Zidan later apologized and was pardoned after Egypt claimed a precious 1-0 victory at Zambia on Saturday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the World Cup for the first time since 1990. The player s apology is enough for us, Shehata, who steered the Pharaohs to two successive Nations Cup triumphs in 2006 and 2008, told Dream TV after the game. We will consider including him in our plans for next month s qualifier against Algeria. Egypt struggled to create goal-scoring opportunities against Zambia in the absence of Zidan. Amr Zaki played as a lone striker but was isolated upfront. The Pharaohs became level on 10 points with Group C leaders Algeria, who can regain their three-point lead on top if they beat Rwanda at home on Sunday. The North African rivals then lock horns in Cairo in their last qualifying game to determine the group winners. Shehata said he would sit down with the Egyptian Football Association officials to discuss the possibility of delaying some Egyptian Premier League games ahead of the crucial encounter. I m just focusing now on how to prepare Egypt for this game. A league break is on the agenda, he added.
