CAIRO - The coaching staff of Egypt's senior football team, headed by America's Bob Bradley, have decided to focus in the coming period on the fitness of the players, as they get ready to travel to Sudan for a preparation camp, starting today. "Coach Bradley has noticed that most of the players aren't fully fit, because they haven't played in any official games since the cancellation of the Egyptian Premier League," Zaki Abdel-Fattah, the national team goalkeeping coach said. The Pharaohs will travel to Sudan on Tuesday for a preparation camp there, where they will play two friendlies against Uganda and Chad, on March 29 and March 31 respectively. The first national team are preparing to face Mozambique and Guinea in the Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifiers; they will also face Central Africa in the 2013 African Cup of Nations (ACN) qualifiers. Abdel-Fattah revealed that Bradley last week held sessions with the technical coaches of Al-Ahly, Zamalek and Enppi clubs to arrange for the concerned players in these teams to join the national team preparation camp in Sudan, after the trio have played their first-leg ties in the African tournaments. "Al-Ahly and Zamalek players will be available for the Uganda friendly, but not the Chad friendly," Abdel Fattah added. "These players won't play in the second friendly, as Bradley wants to give them a rest, so they can get ready for their clubs' ACL second-leg matches”. Bradley, the ex-US national team goalkeeper, added that he's working on stabilising the Pharaohs' line-up. "The ‘Martyrs Cup' and Egypt's Cup will give the coaching staff a good chance to observe and select players from different clubs for the national team, in readiness for the 2013 ACN qualifiers and World Cup qualifiers," he stressed. The Pharaohs' coaching staff, meanwhile, have decided to hold another preparation camp next month, from April 10 to 20, during which the team will play a friendly match, although it's not certain whether this will be in Egypt or abroad. A lot depends on the security forces' approval. The Martyrs' Cup matches will be held in four military stadiums: the Military Stadium, el-Geish Stadium, Borg el-Arab Stadium and Haras el-Hedoud Stadium. Abdel Fattah said that he is impressed by el-Dakhlia striker Ahmed Temsah, Egypt's new attacker, expecting that the star may soon be snapped up by one of Ahly or Zamalek, Egypt's two giant teams. "Temsah is a talented player with great physical and technical capabilities, and we're expecting a lot from him in the coming period," he added.
