Egypt achieved both goals planned during the African qualifications: reaching Ghana 2008 and pumping new blood into the team, according to assistant coach Shawki Gharib. The African champions needed a 78th-minute goal from substitute Mohamed Fadl to have some breathing space against Botswana in Cairo on Saturday. Despite Egypt's qualification as Group B leaders, there have been several question marks over the home performance against underdogs placed 95th in FIFA's rankings. "Some 70% of this team were not there in 2006 when we won the African Cup," Gharib told a press conference after the game. "This is not an excuse and everybody can realize it with a quick look over the squad." Nine players out of 14 took part in the game were not members of the team the snatched gold on home soil 21 months ago. Manager Hassan Shehata fielded three strikers with one of them playing a deeper role in midfield and a playmaker functioning behind them in a bid for an early goal.
But as time went on and Shehata refusing to alter his strategies, thousands of fans in the Cairo International Stadiums started to worry. Egypt's substitutions didn't modify the formation or the playing style and were merely change of faces. Mohamed Zidan, Emad Meteb and Amr Zaki were substituted by Omar Gamal, goal-scorer Fadl and Mahalla striker Ahmed Hassan. "Playing a more attacking game could have hurt us on the break, we had to keep calm and continue hitting hard till scoring," Gharib said. "The real preparation for the African Cup will start on December 25th when we kick-off our preparation camp with all our players attending. "Before this date we will have just short gatherings that won't be enough for proper tactical and technical preparations." The African Cup draw is set for later this week. Ghana host the tournament from January 20th to February 10th.
