Ahmed Hossam 'Mido' believes Egypt have what it takes to become the first African country to reach the World Cup semi-final. Expectations are sky high that Egypt would make it through to the South Africa finals after being handed a relatively easy draw in the final phase of the World Cup qualifiers. The Pharaohs will play against Algeria, Rwanda and Zambia in Group C. Not only Egypt can reach the gigantic world event, but they can also make history for African teams, Middlesbrough striker Mido says. "I think we are capable of reaching the World Cup semi-final," he said in an interview with Aljazeera.net. "With the way we've been playing I think we have the skill to qualify for the World Cup and take it from there and then do well in South Africa." The quarter-final was the most far-reaching stage for African teams in the World Cup. Cameroon and Senegal achieved that feat in 1990 and 2002 respectively.
Mido is likely to be Zaki's partner upfront No Threat Mido believes Amr Zaki's outstanding displays in the Premiership will not undermine his own chances of playing regular football for Egypt. Zaki, who joined Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan from Zamalek, has been a revelation in the Premiership. He scored seven goals in eight games league to lie on top of the scorers' chart. "Maybe we have to play together," former Tottenham Hotspur and Roma striker Mido said. "We have three or four good strikers. We have Mohamed Zidan playing for Dortmund at the moment, we have Emad Meteb in Saudi Arabia and he's doing okay. "We also have two other strikers in the Egyptian league. And I think each game is different and each game needs a different player."
