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The Pharaohs take on the Warriors in a World Cup African Zone Group G soccer qualifier that will get underway at 7pm at the Borg Arab Stadium here tomorrow.
Egypt powered to a hugely flattering 10-0 demolition of Swaziland in their final warm-up match at the same venue on Friday and that result could have sounded warning shots of their pedigree to their next opponents — the Warriors.
But Pharaohs assistant coach Zaky Abdel maintained that they would not let their big win over Swaziland get into their heads and “deceive us into believing that Zimbabwe will be that easy as well’’.
Abdel, a goalkeepers’ coach, who is a trusted lieutenant of Egypt’s coach Bob Bradley having worked with the American for the last nine years, said they had been closely following the progress of Zimbabwean players such as Warriors talisman Knowledge Musona, Ovidy Karuru and the senior team’s South African-based contingent.
“We have seen Musona playing in Germany, then there is the midfielder who is based in Belgium and about five or six players who are in South Africa and they are all good players who can do well for their country and only God knows what the result will be on Tuesday,’’ Abdel said.
Although he was happy to note that their win over Swaziland had brought back the confidence into their team, Abdel said they were bracing for a much tougher challenge from a Warriors outfit seeking to revive a World Cup dream that got off of to a horrible start when they lost 1-0 at home to Guinea, last year.
“We respect Zimbabwe a lot. They are a very good team and they are not going to be like Swaziland certainly, but hopefully we will have a very good game and we will get the result that we are looking for.
“The Swaziland match was like a training game where we tried some tactics and technical aspects of our game plan, especially considering that they are a Southern African team that regularly plays against Zimbabwe,’’ Abdel said.
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Abdel, seeking a second appearance at the World Cup with a different country, having been to the global soccer piece with the United States at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, however remained bullish about his team’s chances of securing a third straight win in the group.
He said Egypt had since put behind them the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2013 African Cup of Nations to shift their attention to the World Cup finals scheduled for Brazil next year.
“Our main focus now is the World Cup and we are happy that the whole of Egypt is now behind us for this cause. We were disappointed that we did not make to the Nations Cup because in any game or any tournament that we play, we always want to be the champions.
“But we also realise that there are no more easy games in world football whether you are at home or playing away.
“Last year, Zambia were African champions, this year Burkina Faso surprised everyone and reached the final and you also look at Niger . . . they did well at the Nations Cup in South Africa.
“So we have to respect every team that we play against and just like Zimbabwe, our team has lot of younger players too and I am sure the game on Tuesday will be played in good spirit and show the world that there is indeed good football in Africa,’’ Abdel said.
Abdel also spoke about the current civil unrest rocking their vast North African country and said many people were looking up to the Pharaohs to provide the silver lining to the dark cloud hovering over their nation because of the political crisis.
“In Egypt, football brings people together and that is the only time when people set aside their political differences because the game provides a lot of hope for them and we hope to do that again when we play Zimbabwe.
“Last year, we were forced to play in empty stadiums and we are happy that at least 10 000 fans will be allowed into the stadium for the Zimbabwe match. When you have been playing before an empty stadium and you are allowed even 100 fans you will welcome that because it does make a difference so 10 000 will still be a good number for us’’.
Abdel also heaped praise on some of the Pharaohs veterans such as former Al Ahly forward Mohamed Aboutrika and Zamalek’s Wael Gomaa, whose experience he said was adding value to their young team.
“The young layers need to see and learn from the older players and their experience has been useful for us. They have been to the Nations Cup and the Fifa Confederations Cup many times before and some of the younger players in our team saw Aboutrika playing while they were still in school.
“Now they get a chance to share a hotel room with him and that alone is an inspiration because they want to achieve what he has achieved for his country,’’ Abdel said.
While the Pharaohs assistant coach appeared cautiously confident, Warriors skipper Denver Mukamba’s confidence seemed to be growing with each day in the build up to the game as he declared his troops ready for the big battle.
Mukamba is leader of a class that has a number of rookies whom coach Klaus Dieter Pagels decided to throw into the deep end in the German mentor’s first competitive game in charge of the Warriors.
Pagels has been singing a gospel of rebuilding the Warriors and hopefully turn them back into a force on the continent by 2015 and tomorrow, the Zifa technical adviser, will get the first real hint of where his revolution with the Zimbabwe game is heading.
Reigning Castle Lager Premiership Soccer Star of the Year Mukamba, now playing for Bidvest Wits in South Africa knows that he will carry a lot of the Warriors expectations on his slender frame now that he has been handed the mantle of leading from the front.
But the talented former Dynamos midfielder, who has already received the backing of his coaches and fellow players declared that his troops would not let the Pharaohs’ high profile status on the continent intimidate them.
“We know that they are seven-time African champions and we respect them but we have a job to do and we will not look at names when we play them. So far our training has gone on very well, we are ready for the big game and the coach has been trying to work on a number of things from the last time we played Botswana but we know we have to work hard in order to get a result.
“I think the fact that we know all about them will actually work in our favour,’’ Mukamba said.
Online Reporter