El Gohary led his team through the ACN qualifiers with relative ease, and had no significant problems in the group that contained the Ivory Coast, Libya and Sudan. The Elephants were stunned 1-0 in Alexandria, then held them to a 2-2 away draw. Sudan were no competition as Egypt managed a 1-0 win in Khartoum, followed by a 3-2 Cairo thriller. Libya dealt Egypt their only loss of the campaign as they avenged a 4-0 loss in Cairo with a 2-0 Tripoli score line.

As many other teams in Mali, the Egyptians are surely bitter at their World Cup exit, and will undoubtedly be out to make a point, that is they are worthy of representing Africa on an international level. Along with Ghana, Egypt is the only team to have ever won the ACN four times, most recently in Burkina Faso 1998, where a shunned Pharaoh side, surprised even themselves with a brilliant tournament. Many are skceptic as to the current Pharaoh side's chances of performing well in Mali, claiming that the players are either exhausted; referring to some of Egypt's European professionals, or not fit enough, both mentally and physically for such a major event.

Scenarios?

Egypt's sour luck extends beyond their group placement, as anything other than finshing top of Group D, will see them either exit early if they finish third, or face the huge possibility of facing Cameroon's Indomitable Lions in the quarter finals. Cameroon heads Group C, and with competition like the D.R Congo, Ivory Coast and Togo, they should have no significant problems finshing the preliminary round on top of their group, and will await the runner up in Egypt's group. Most critics will agree that Cameroon are best placed to make it the farthest in the tournament. 

If, on the other hand, the Pharaohs manage to finish first in their group, then they will only face Mboma and his compatriots in the final, that is, if they make it that far. Senegal are not our only tough compeititon in the group, but North African World Cup qualifiers, Tunisia are also set to make their mark, as their last positive ACN run ended with silver medals in South Africa 1996. Despite Al-Ahly's conquering of Esperance in the CAF Champions League, Tunisian soccer has always had the edge on the international level, and we may discover that the "complex" still exists. Egypt will also be looking to redeem the 1-0 loss in their 2000 ACN quarter final exit at the hands of the Tunisians through a Khaled Badra penalty.

Group D will most probably be decided by relative minnows, Zambia, who despite being labeled group underdogs, will have a lot to say in this "Group of Death". Chances must be capitalised to the extreme as goal difference may have ruling in the group, in the case of multiple draws and narrow victories.

Arsenal

Despite the loss of veteran striker Hossam Hassan, who's role in Mali would have been inspirational to his team mates, El Gohary does seem to have a few tricks up his sleeve. Ajax's Ahmed Hossam will be leading the Egyptian offence, and will surely be tightly marked, leaving volatile players such as Barakat, Bebo, Hamza and Emam to produce the goals. Egypt's nets are not to be worried about, with three world class keepers in contention for a starting spot, and according to Fekry Saleh, Pharaoh keeper coach. "The keeper that starts off for Egypt will be more than likely to win the best goalkeeper award". As for the defence, Ibrahim Said, Yasser Radwan and Mohammed Emara are more or less sure tickets in the back, with a single pace to be contested by Abdelzaher El Sakka, Wael Gomaa and Hani Said. 

As usual, Egypt's greatest virtue will be their midfield line-up, with Hany Ramzy heading the pack along with Ahmed Hassan as defensive mids, while Tarek El Said and Mohammed Barakat expected to rule the flanks. Hazem Emam is a likely choice for a starting late forward, with Mido being the uncontested man upfront. All these names, if performing properly and cohesively, should be able to take on all teams in the group, providing a ruthlessly committed regime is followed. Egypt's bench contains copius talent as well, with players sure to live up the team jersey, despite maybe Tarek El Sayed and Abu El Ela. Bebo, Hamza, Gomaa, Fahim, Hosny and Hani Said will all make suitable subs at any point of any game.

We can forget seeing Egypt's inspired performances against Senegal and Morocco in Cairo, during last June's World Cup qualifiers. For one thing, 80,000 screaming Egyptian fans will not be present to cheer the team on. Digging into El Gohary's mind, and given his selection of midfielders, he will most probably revert back to his "Goharian" school of soccer, which suits African tournaments best. An air-tight defence, starting from Ramzy and Hassan in midfield and ending with a quick, tough Ibrahim Said, will be complemented by minimal pass counter attacks. Expect to see slowly built Pharaoh organised attacks - not the counters - that will depend on the flanks mainly, with vertical and horizontal player combinations being executed. 

Finally, all that is left to say is that Egypt's chances are as good as the players want them to be. Knowing that the full support of 70 million Egyptians worldwide, in addtion to keen European scouting eyes should provide extra incentive for the players, but the greatest incentive of all should be placing the Pharaoh name back at the helm of African soccer, which will not only be accomplished by winning the tournmanet, but also by providing stellar performances that will satisfy the average Egyptian soccer fan's aspirations.

egyptiansoccer.com

egyptiansoccer.com has also some very good previews for you on all other 15 teams
preview part 1
preview part 2