The coaching staff of the Egyptian Olympic team headed by Hani Ramzi expressed its satisfaction when the team defeated the Costa Rica Olympic team 1-0 in readiness for the Olympic Games in London later this year. "I'm satisfied with the win over the Costa Rica team, it gives players confidence," Ramzi said after the game, pointing out that the team was in good shape and performed well ahead of the Olympic Game competitions. The Young Pharaohs overtook the Costa Rica Olympic team Thursday night with 1-0, thanks to a goal by striker Ahmed Shorieda in the first half of the game. Last week Egypt's U-23 team arrived in Costa Rica for a preparation camp, during which they were supposed to play against Panama in a friendly, but it was cancelled. Instead they played against Costa Rica and will travel to face Uruguay on April 25 and also play against the Salvador Olympic team. "Despite the cancellation of the Premier League and the difficulties this country is facing, we are determined to continue the training and camps abroad and at home, so the players will be fit and tactically prepared for London,” Ramzi explained. He added that the main aim of playing friendlies was to give the players more experience in anticipation of the official games. "We have played against national teams from Asia, Africa and Europe, but not from South America." He pointed out that playing against a team like Costa Rica or Uruguay was a good experience. Two weeks ago, the Egyptian Olympic team defeated FC Basel of Switzerland 4-3 in a friendly, courtesy of goals by Mohamed el-Nini, Mohamed Salah (two) and Marwan Mohssen. The Young Pharaohs played many friendlies; they even defeated the Pharaohs' senior team 2-1 earlier this month. Prior to that, they suffered a 3-1 defeat against the 2011 European champion Spain in a friendly on February 29 in Madrid. Ramzi fully appreciates the responsibility placed on him and his players. "History will have no mercy on me or the players, if we're not in good shape or don't perform honourably in the Olympic Games." He urged his players to do their best to please the fans. The U-23 Olympic team qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games for the first time since 1992, which made all Egyptians happy. Ramzi will travel to London tomorrowy to attend the draw of the Olympic Games on Tuesday. Then he will travel to Uruguay to lead his team in the friendly against the Celeste team. The Uruguay team (The Sky Blue) has already qualified for the Olympic Games. "Facing this team is a good opportunity for our lads to gain more experience of the Latin American school of football," Ramzi said before travelling to Costa Rica. He explained that the Olympic team would hold a final preparation camp in Germany from July 12 to 22 after participating in the Arab Football Cup. The Egyptian Football Association (EFA), headed by Anwar Saleh, decided to enter Egypt's Olympic national team instead of the senior national team for the Arab Football Cup in Jeddah and Al-Taif from June 22 to July 4. The coaching staff of the Y-Pharaohs is pleased with the EFA decision, as it's a great opportunity to play more friendlies before the Olympic Games in London from July 27 to August 12. The Arab Cup will feature Egypt, Saudi Arabia (the host country), the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Libya, Morocco and Yemen. Each team will receive $200,000, the winner will be awarded $1 million and the runners-up $600,000. "I have not yet determined the main line-up for the Olympic Games," Ramzi said. The Olympic team will play in the Toulon friendly International Tournament from May 22 to June 3, with the participation of the Olympics teams from the Netherlands, Japan, Belarus, Mexico, MoroccoFrance and Egypt. The Egyptian team is in Group A with Japan, Mexico and France.
