Egypt benefited from Friday's friendly game against Mauritius although the opponents were not that good, assistant coach Shawki Gharib said. The Pharaohs found no difficulty in crushing Mauritius 4-0 at Petrosport Stadium in a warm up for the crucial World Cup qualifier at Zambia on October 10th. A brace from classy playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika and goals from Amr Zaki and Ahmed Hassan gave them an easy victory. "This match was useful. For instance, we gave Amr Zaki the chance to play full 90 minutes because he has not played any game for Egypt since the World Cup qualifying defeat to Algeria," Gharib told Nile Sports after the game. "(Midfielder) Mohamed Hommos, (defender) Sherif Abdul-Fadil and (striker) Salah Amin were also given a chance." Debutant Amin, who impressed for Gaish in the Egyptian Premier League, was unlucky to pick up an injury after just 10 minutes. He was replaced with Lierse S.K striker Mohamed Al-Gabbas. "We hoped he would play for a longer time but he was unfortunately injured," Gharib added. Many have questioned the importance of facing a relatively weak opponent like Mauritius ahead of the anticipated encounter against Zambia in Chililabombwe. But Gharib is adamant this was the best option for the six-time African champions to prepare for the crunch tie. "We had to play a friendly game during that 17-day league break but is not the time of FIFA's international match calendar, so Mauritius were the best choice," he said. Egypt, who have not reached the World Cup since 1990, lie second in Group C with seven points, three behind leaders Algeria with two matches remaining. Only the group winners will reach next year's finals in South Africa.
