Shikabala and Abdullah Saied were left out of Egypt's squad for Thursday's friendly game against Qatar to give other players the chance to prove their worth, assistant coach Shawki Gharib said. Zamalek wizard Shikabala did not make Egypt's 21-man squad despite producing some dazzling performances in the Egyptian Premier League recently. Widespread reports suggested that he was omitted as a disciplinary measure after allegedly feigning injury to skip last month's friendly at home to Australia. Ismaili playmaker Saied also missed out on the squad although he played a key role in helping his side claim four consecutive victories through his trademark free kicks and deft passes. "We don't have any problems with Shikabala," Gharib said in a television interview late on Saturday. "We just want to stick with the side which played against Australia to help some players gain more experience." Egypt relied on several new faces in the 3-0 victory over Australia, including ENPPI striker Ahmed Abdul-Zaher who opened the scoring for his first international goal. MCDR's diminutive playmaker Ayman Hefni, who is reportedly targeted by Cairo giants Zamalek, can also make his Egypt debut against Qatar. The Pharaohs will miss European-based duo Mohamed Zidan and Ahmed Elmohamady, who couldn't join up with the national team due to their club commitments.
