Hosts Egypt go up against bitter rivals Morocco in Cairo on Tuesday in what should be one of the highlights of the African Nations Cup.
The Group A clash will more than likely see Morocco exit the tournament should they lose and victory for Egypt would see the hosts through to the quarterfinals.
The two countries have a passionate rivalry, though while Egypt are seeking a record fifth African title they need to overcome a dreadful record against their opponents with just two wins in 26 meetings.
With Côte d’Ivoire likely to make it two wins from two against Libya, who lost 3-0 to Egypt in the opening match, it makes it all the more vital that Morocco garner something from the match having lost 1-0 to Côte d’Ivoire.
Moroccan coach Mohammed Fakhir admitted that playing pretty football counts for little when one looks at the table.
”You can come off the pitch and say ‘wow, we played well’ and dominated large parts of the match but then reality bites and you look at the table and you see the end result is zero points,” said Fakhir, who guided FAR Rabat to the African Confederations Cup (the equivalent of the UEFA Cup) in December.
”The best thing about the performance against the Ivory Coast is that we can grow in confidence from it and hopefully that will show when we play Egypt on Tuesday.”
Fakhir was drafted in after fiery Frenchman Philippe Troussier was sacked at the end of December just two months into his tenure.
”Just 10 days to get together and it didn’t look too bad,” said Fakhir, who also wisely brought back 35-year-old veteran Nouredine Naybet after he had been left out in the cold by Troussier’s predecessor Badou Zaki.
For Morocco to keep themselves in the hunt they will need veterans like Youssef Hadji and Youssef Chippo to pull the strings and for striker Marouane Chamakh to convert the chances, with the added bonus for the 21-year-old Bordeaux marksman of increasing Spurs reported interest in him.
One of Spurs’ current strikers, though, will be hoping to best his clubmate Naybet and the latter’s fellow English Premiership central defender Talal El Karkouri of Charlton Athletic.
Mido proved a handful for the Libyan defence, scoring one, but now as he accepts is the time to really prove himself against a genuine rival for the title.
”I will be up against one of the best defences in the continent and this is not going to be easy,” said the 22-year-old, who prior to the Libyan match had failed to score in his previous two African Nations Cup finals.
”However we have taken a lot of confidence from our first match and that will stand us in good stead.”
Mido is not a one-man team though and in captain Ahmed Hasan and fellow midfielder Mohammed Barakat Egypt he has two players capable of creating ample opportunities. – Sapa-AFP