CAIRO: Egypt assistant coach Shawki Gharib believes his side produced their best display in the African Cup of Nations preparations following a 3-3 draw with Angola on Sunday. We are pleased with Egypt s performance against Angola. This match was far better than our previous two friendlies against Namibia and Mali, Gharib told FilGoal.com. Emad Meteb s hat-trick was not enough to help Egypt overcome a resilient Angola side, who came from behind twice and even had the lead early in the second-half. Mohamed Abou Treika was a notable absentee from the match but Gharib allayed any fears regarding his availability for CAN. We opted to rest him as he has just recovered from a flu which didn t allow him participate against Mali. The Pharaohs crushed Namibia 3-0 and edged past Mali 1-0 in their other CAN 2008 warm-ups. Egypt will open their title defense against Cameroon on January 22nd. Coach Hassan Shehata has decided on his starting line-up for our tournament s opener against Cameroon, Shawki added. The five-time African champions will fly to Kumasi, where Group C takes place, on Thursday.
