Cheered on by thousands of fans at Cairo Stadium, Egypt will be looking to end a 20-year World Cup drought when they host Algeria in an anticipated qualifier on Saturday. Egypt's last appearance in the football's most prestigious event came in 1990 in Italy, also at the expense of Algeria. They have failed to repeat that feat since then despite winning three Nations Cup titles in 1998, 2006 and 2008. The current crop of players shoulders the responsibility of ending a long wait to appear in the World Cup. "This generation has what it takes to reach the World Cup, in terms of tenacity and skills," skipper Ahmed Hassan said ahead of the crucial meeting with Algeria. Egypt have an uphill to climb though as they need to beat their fierce rivals by a three-goal margin to qualify directly for next year's South Africa finals. A victory by a two-goal margin will see the North African duo meet in a playoff in Sudan on Wednesday to determine the Group C winner because they would be equal in goal difference, goals scored and head-to-head record. The Pharaohs are expected to play in front of a sell-out crowd at the 74,100-seat Cairo Stadium, which was dubbed the 'stadium of horror' by Hassan. "We've faced far more difficult situations in the past against fiercer opponents, and we were able to overcome them," head coach Hassan Shehata said. "Our players have enough experience to win in front of such a huge crowd, as they showed at the African Cup of Nations in 2006."
Fans expected to flood Cairo Stadium Unprecedented Enthusiasm The build-up to the game has been marred by repeated verbal spats between both sides and attempts to calm things down have been in vain. Consequently, Some Egyptian fans threw stones at Algeria bus upon the team's arrival in Cairo on Thursday. Their actions prompted world governing body FIFA to ask the Egyptian FA to 'provide written guarantees that confirm the implementation of the necessary additional safety and security measures at any time for the visiting delegation'. People in the football-mad country are so enthusiastic that they poured onto the streets of Cairo on Friday to warm up for possible celebrations the following day. They waved Egypt's flags, sang and honked their horns - habitual exercises after every success but never before a game. "Our aim is always to please the fans and we hope to continue to do this on Saturday," Shehata added. The 60-year-old boss has almost a fully-fit squad to choose from after influential midfielder Hosni Abd-Rabou recovered from an ankle injury he sustained in a UAE league game with his club Ahli Dubai. He will only miss central defender Wael Gomaa, who was ruled out through suspension. Algeria, who had several injury concerns, are likely to welcome back Bochum defender Antar Yahia and Wolfsburg playmaker Karim Ziani after both shook off injuries in time for the clash.
