Alexandria - Hani Al-Awadi : Egypt's victory over Zimbabwe in Thursday's international friendly provided the players with a much needed morale boost ahead of the African Cup of Nations (ACN), assistant coach Shawqi Gharib said. "Zimbabwe have qualified to the ACN and beating them increased the confidence of the players tremendously ahead of tournament," Gharib told reporters after Thursday's game. Abdul-Halim Ali scored twice to give Egypt a 2-0 victory over the visitors in Alexandria. The game is the first in three friendlies scheduled for the Egyptian team in preparation for the ACN that kicks-off on January 20th. "Our aim is to improve the players' fitness before the tournament but we made several changes during the game to assess some players before naming our final squad," he added. Gharib hailed Ali's performance, noting he was happy to see the Zamalek ace regain his scoring ways.
Amr Zaki is in good condition "Abdul-Halim Ali's outstanding performance was the game's biggest outcome," he said. The assistant coach revealed that the full 23-man squad will be announced after Nigeria's game on Monday. Egypt final rehearsal for the ACN will be against South Africa on January 13th. Gharib said that Strasbourg midfielder Hosni Abd-Rabou will arrive in Cairo on Saturday but he won't take part in against Nigeria before being cleared by the medical staff. Gharib also delivered news that Enppi striker Amr Zaki, who sustained a head injury during Zimbabwe's game, is in good condition and will resume training with his teammates.
