Coach Hassan Shehata said he wants to cancel Egypt's friendly international with Kuwait, which is scheduled for June 12th. The game was originally set for April 16th was canceled due to Ahli and Ismaili's inter-continental commitments, but now after the surprising draw with Mauritania, Shehata insists Egypt's priorities have changed. The African champions will travel to Rwanda to face Burundi, who are having their home pitch revamped by FIFA, in a game that could very well determine Egypt's fate in the qualifiers. "Burundi trail us by two points and are in second place, if we beat them, we would virtually book our place in the African Nations Cup finals," Shehata told FilGoal.com. "Not to mention, that because of the venue change, our plans will be different, which makes the Kuwait friendly a strain," he added.
Shehata said he has yet to contact Egyptian Football Association (EFA) president Samir Zaher to discuss the issue, which could sever the relation with the Kuwaiti FA especially that the game is a testimonial for national team captain Abdullah Al-Wabran. But the African Cup winning boss seems more concerned about his team's fate. "I have to prepare the players well ahead of the Burundi game," said Shehata. "The Europe-based players and Ahli players have been resting for quite a while and they need to get back in form." "Our two main objectives currently are to qualify for the 2008 finals in Ghana and to retain our title once we are there," he added. Egypt are in charge of their Group B with 8 points, followed by Burundi who have 6 points while Mauritania and Botswana are in last place with four points each.
