Wigan Athletic striker Amr Zaki believes an Egypt failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup will be unfair. The Pharaohs, who won back-to-back Nations Cup titles in 2006 and 2008, are favorites to finish on top of Group C and reach the South Africa finals. But a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Zambia in their group stage opener prompted fears about Egypt's chances of reaching the World Cup for the first time since 1990. The six-time African champions next face a stern test against North African rivals Algeria on June seventh. "I know that reaching the World Cup is never easy, but missing out on it will be unfair," Zaki told Algerian paper Echorouk on Wednesday. "We are the African champions so we deserve to play in the Mondial.
Zaki: We deserve to play in the Mondial "First, we have to avoid dropping any more points and should focus on claiming wins at home and on the road. "It is also very important that we don't lose against Algeria in our next game." Zaki, who is on loan at English side Wigan from Zamalek, will be sidelined for two weeks after hurting his ankle and knee in the 3-1 Premiership defeat to West Bromwich last weekend. "I'm doing my best to recover as soon as possible and be available for Egypt." Egypt are scheduled to face Oman on May 31st in a warm-up for the anticipated clash against Algeria.
