adminWorld Cup qualifier at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
The Pharaohs are expected to arrive in Harare tomorrow for a defining Southern African mission that will see them also date the Mambas of Mozambique in another Group G encounter in Maputo the following week.
Zimbabwe will be on the road too soon after playing Egypt when they fly out to Conakry for their last away assignment against Guinea.
But it is the Pharaohs, seemingly running away with the sole Group G ticket after opening a five-point lead over Guinea, who have established themselves as firm favourites to secure passage to the final round of the African Zone qualifiers for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
Their coach Bradley who guided his native United States to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, is not taking any chances even as it has become clearer that both the Warriors and the Mambas will be playing more for national pride. Egypt were last night held to a 1-1 draw by Botswana in Cairo in an international friendly and needed to come from behind to secure the draw.
Bradley, speaking to the media in Cairo, challenged his players to have the “right mentality.”
“Before I got here I heard the mentality of playing outside Egypt was not very good. From the very beginning I told the players that in order to qualify for the World Cup that has to change, has to improve,” Bradley told a news conference in Cairo.
“What the players need to understand is that when we play outside Egypt the conditions, sometimes the field or referees, won’t go your way.
“But the strength of the group and the mentality not let those things stop us is the key.
“The game in Conakry was a good example of the right mentality outside Egypt and we hope to have that again in the next game.”
Egypt beat Guinea 3-2 in Conakry last year with Mohamed Salah grabbing the late winner.
“As for Zimbabwe, we expect a difficult game, they worked very hard and put in tremendous effort in Borg El-Arab (Stadium),” Bradley said.
“We have looked back at the game to see the things we felt were very good and things where we could improve.”
Bradley has also played down the significance of an apparent rift between himself and some of the older players who were not picked in a provisional squad for the upcoming two qualifiers.
The likes of Al Ahly’s Sayed Moawad and Walid Soliman have heavily criticised the American boss for snubbing them, accusing him of favouring certain players “who are not fit to represent the national team.”
In-form winger Soliman was later included in the 30-man squad.
“It’s difficult for me to come and speak when players choose to speak to the press. Obviously not everyone will be happy with the decisions, this is part of the game
“But I still think it’s important that the players show respect for me and the group. If you have got a good team you have always players who respect the group,” said Bradley.
Egypt’s squad, which will be trimmed to 25 players, does not include a reliable striker following the injury of Hull City-bound forward Gedo. “Gedo’s injury certainly hurts us. And again we have this discussion many times, but for me an established striker is the one who can score on a regular basis,” said Bradley.
“We still believe that we have some different options. And so we are going to the two games to make the best out of the current situation.”
“We continue to think about possibilities. We are waiting for Gedo to recover from injury and we are trying to find a way to be a dangerous team, to threaten opponents and score goals.”
Online Reporter