CAIRO - Egypt's coach Hassan Shehata on Monday urged the players to concentrate on the Nile Basin tournament, which starts today in Cairo with the participation of seven countries. The event runs until January 17 and Egypt will encounter Tanzania in the opener tonight at Cairo Stadium. Shehata called on the team to clinch the title, in order to boost their morale for the forthcoming African Cup of Nations (ACN) qualifiers, describing this friendly tourney as just as important as any official event. The coach stressed that the Pharaohs, who are in ninth spot in FIFA's latest rankings, are determined to put on well, so that they can give the Egyptian fans something to be happy about. “Our target is to qualify for the Gabon and Equatorial Guinea ACN in 2012. That would really make the fans happy.” This tournament will help Egypt prepare for their ACN qualifier against South Africa in March. The Pharaohs have only one point so far in the ACN qualifiers, having been unexpectedly beaten 1-0 by Niger, after drawing with Sierra Leone 1-1 in Cairo last year. Egypt, who have won the ACN a record three times in a row, still have a good chance of qualifying, providing, of course, that they win their forthcoming qualifiers. Meanwhile, the tournament in Cairo consists of two groups of seven teams: Group A includes Egypt, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi, while Group B features Sudan, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo. One doubtful is Hossam Ghali, who has sustained a back injury that could rule him out of Egypt's opening match. According to the Egyptian Football Association's (EFA) official website, the Ahly man has a muscle strain. Versatile ace Ghali will miss training ahead of the match and should undergo medical tests later to determine whether he'll be fit to play. The Pharaohs will face Uganda three days after their opener, while their final group game will be against Burundi on January 11. All the players have been looking good in training, especially Zamalek's versatile Shikabala, who was handed a one-match ban by the FA's football committee and fined LE5,000 (about $870) for the unpleasant incidents that took place in the Cairo derby between Zamalek and Ahly last Thursday. Shika was spotted by photographers holding his shoe and threatening the Red Devils' fans, who jeered as he was walked off the pitch when he was replaced by Ahmed Tawfiq late in the clash, that ended in a goalless draw.
