African Cup of Nations hosts Egypt are eyeing victory over arch-rivals Morocco to secure passage to the tournament's second round, assistant coach Shawki Gharib said. Egypt are in charge of their Group A on three points after beating Libya 3-0 in the opening game and will face Morocco in second round action on Tuesday. “We have one objective, which is to beat Morocco and book our place in the quarter-finals,” Gharib told Filgoal.com on Sunday. “Morocco are very similar to Libya in their style of play, but are superior in their pace and individual talents, but that will not stop us from achieving our goal,” he added. Gharib said that Egypt's coaching staff reviewed Morocco's game against Ivory Coast, which the Atlas Lions lost 1-0, with the players.
Shawki Gharib “We pointed out the points of strength and weakness in the Moroccan team with our players,” he said. The former youth national team boss singled out midfielder Mohamed Yaacoubi, who plays his trade for Spanish outfit Osasuna, as the player to watch in the Moroccan squad. The Egyptian team will resume their preparations for Tuesday's match later on Sunday in the Cairo Stadium with all 23-players in attendance after Moetaz-Bellah “Eno” joined the squad for the injured Hosni Abd-Rabou. Gharib said there will be limited changes to Egypt's squad for the Morocco game after the majority of the players fulfilled their role during the opening game against Libya. When asked about Egypt's hopes of winning their Group A, Gharib said: “This will be determined when we face Ivory Coast in the final group match. We are taking it one step at a time for now.”
