Egypt coach Hassan Shehata is satisfied with the impact made by trio Hossam Ghaly, Mohamed Abdul-Shafi and Mohamed Nagi 'Geddo' in the wake of the 1-0 win over Mali. Nassr midfielder Ghaly managed to re-establish his national team place by breaking into Shehata's African Cup of Nations roster after missing out on several occasions last year. In the same manner, Zamalek full-back Abdul-Shafi and Ittihad playmaker Geddo impressed in the warm-up games against Malawi and Mali, with the latter scoring the winning goal on Monday. "The importance of the new faces like Ghaly, Abdul-Shafi and Geddo has been demonstrated," Egypt coach Shehata told reporters in Dubai. "I think it has been a very successful experience for the trio. They quickly settled in and felt the atmosphere of tough international matches. "I believe our warm-up has been very useful for the team." Egypt start their title defense in Angola against Nigeria on January 12th, before meeting Mozambique and Benin.