CAIRO - Egypt's U-23 technical coach Hani Ramzi said that his team's performance in the opening match against Gabon on Sunday night in the U-23 African Cup of Nations (ACN) was not up to scratch, promising the Egyptian fans that the players would do better in the coming matches. The Young Pharaohs opened the U-23 ACN, which runs to December 10 in Morocco, with a 1-0 victory over Gabon (The Panthers), thanks to a goal from Ahmed Magdi. "Opening matches in any tournament are always difficult, so a win was more important than how we played," added Ramzi, stressing that he is optimistic that the team can do something good for the country in this tournament. The tournament, the first edition of the U-23 ACN, serves as the qualifying championship for the 2012 London Olympic Games. “The players are concentrating hard; they are all aware that they must really win every game, if they want to get to the final and ensure a berth in the 2012 Olympic Games, making the fans happy," Ramzi stressed. The tactician recognised that the opening match against Gabon, in a tournament involving Africa's eight best national teams, was the most difficult of all. The Young Pharaohs have been drawn against Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa and Gabon in Group A in the Olympic Games qualifiers. The young Pharaohs will now face Côte d'Ivoire Wednesday night at 10:30 (Cairo Local Time). The first two teams in each group will qualify for the semi-finals, while the two finalists will automatically go through to the Olympics, along with the third-place winner. The fourth place team also will face an Asian representative in a two-leg tie and the winner will qualify for the Games. Ramzi acknowledged that the players made the game difficult for themselves. "They made hard work of their victory, because of a lack of co-ordination," he explained. He said that he didn't ask the players to go on the defensive after scoring. "I urged them to keep on pressing for a second goal, but the lack of concentration and physical fitness of some players clearly affected the team's performance," Ramzi said. The ex-international defender started the match with the 4-4-1-1 formation. "Although my players all play for local teams and are not professionals, I have great confidence in them," stressed the ex-Al-Ahly player, pointing out that, if these young stars can prove themselves by reaching the Olympics, they could well become professionals with European teams. Ramzi admitted that the players made some mistakes on Sunday night. "Their passing of the ball was below par, while they didn't keep to their positions properly," he said, stressing that he will do his best before the Côte d'Ivoire match tomorrow night to fix these problems. "The team will be ready for Côte d'Ivoire. We know how difficult it is; it will be a great challenge for us," Ramzi said, pointing out that Côte d'Ivoire are a strong team. Defender Ahmed Hegazi said that it was winning that mattered. "We achieved our main goal of snatching three points," said the talented defender, although he also admitted that their standard declined after the goal. Hegazi's teammates, defender Omar Gaber and goalkeeper Ahmed el-Shenawi, agreed. The Young Pharaohs, who have not qualified for the Olympics since 1992, are aiming to put on a strong performance in the hope of grabbing the ACN title and qualifying for London next year. Tareq el-Said, the team's general coach, was happy with the win. "The most important thing in an opening game is to come away with all three points," he said, adding that, if they'd been a little luckier, they could have scored more than just once. The ex-Ahly and Zamalek star showed forbearance for the players, as they are young and feel the pressure from the fans to make it to London. Mahmoud Bakr, a soccer expert, stressed his confidence that the Young Pharaohs can indeed do this. Tuesday's matches: 5:30pm Morocco v Algeria 10:30pm Senegal v Nigeria Wednesday's matches: 5:30pm Gabon v South Africa 10:30pm Egypt v Côte d'Ivoire
