North African giants Egypt, Tunisia eye spot in final

Veteran Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz on Tuesday said African football powerhouse Egypt will be up for a ‘good show’ against feisty Tunisia when the two sides clash in the first semi-final of the FIFA Arab Cup today.
In the quarter-final on Saturday, Egypt - ranked 45 in the world - went deep into extra time to beat Jordan 3-1 after strikes from Marwan Hamdy, Ahmed Refaat and Marwan Daoud.
Tunisia, coached by Monder El Kabeer, edged Oman 2-1 in their quarter-final following goals by high-scoring Seifeddine Jaziri and Youssef Msakni.
“The match will be difficult for both sides,” the popular coach said during a pre-match press conference yesterday. “As a coach, I am happy to see my side play this phase of the tournament.
“We hope to put on a good show for football fans,” Queiroz, 68, said yesterday.
“I expect our team to present a match full of energy and effort. The aim of participating in the Arab Cup is to give opportunity to a number of our young players so they grow and learn in addition to preparing for the World Cup next year,” he added.
When asked about his players being down physically following four draining matches in quick time, Queiroz said: “Everything will become clear after the rest that we have got but I can say that I will not pressure any player to play as I put players’ health first.”
“The match against Tunisia will certainly be a strong clash. We will face a good team and the evidence for this is that they have reached the semi-finals. Like I said, it will be a difficult match for both sides,” the Egypt coach said.
“We will go through some difficult moments during the match – we expect that – but then we have to be strong and deal well with such situations,” he added.
Egypt captain Amro Elsoulia yesterday said he is expecting a tough clash against Tunisia, ranked 29 in the world. “We are happy to be playing in the semi-finals. The match will be difficult for both sides. I cannot talk now about the strengths and weaknesses of the Tunisian team but we know how we will play,” Elsoulia said. “This is a match between two of the best African teams. Most of the players in the Tunisian team play in the Egyptian league,” he added.
“I hope that we will exhibit intense focus. We will do our best to reach the final. History does not help in football as every match has its own circumstances and calculations,” the Egyptian captain added. “We will try to make it easier for ourselves from the start and enter the match with concentration in order to win.”
Tunisia coach El Kabeer yesterday said his team seeks a place in the final.
“Our desire is to get a positive result and reach the final of the FIFA Arab Cup,” El Kabeer said yesterday.
“In the group stage, we faced some difficulties, but then we started to play our best after the UAE match. We started going up and we will strive to do that tomorrow also. We have prepared well with all players available for selection. My camp has good team spirit. We know every small and big thing about the Egyptian team but our focus will be on our performance,” El Kabeer said. Tunisian defender Mohamed Drager yesterday said his team is ready for the last-four clash. “The Egyptian team is a great side. We will have to be really focused as we are aware of the difficulty of the match,” Drager said yesterday. “The availability of all our players enhances our chances (to win). We will give our maximum effort possible. We rely on team effort and camaraderie. It will be the same in the semi-final and we will do everything in our power to reach the final,” Drager added.