Egypt v Malawi

Egypt
will be seeking to avenge their 1-0 away defeat to Malawi last week
when the two sides face-off at the Cairo stadium on Sunday.

The result saw the Pharaohs drop to third spot in African Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifying Group Twelve.

However, the Egyptian FA are more concerned with safety of
goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary, who was the subject of abuse in their last
home game against the DR Congo.

Egyptian FA president Samir Zaher told the FA's official website: "We have the utmost confidence in the fans' love for Egypt."

"Their support was a decisive factor in helping the national team win back-to-back Nation Cup titles.

"Some reports said that we intend to implement additional
security measures in Sunday's match, but I can affirm that those
reports are completely untrue.

"We fully respect Egyptian fans, whom we believe will heavily support the team against Malawi."

Coach Hassan Shehata will breathe a sigh of relief with the return of experienced strike duo of Emad Moteab and Amr Zaky.

The Flames' confidence will still be high as they top the Group
but Malawi football chief Charles Nyirenda warned the team not to
expect a warm reception in the Egyptian capital.

Nyirenda told FilGoal:"The atmosphere is likely to be
intimidating. They will be over 100,000 fans who will be chanting and
roaring trying to intimidate the Flames."

"Majority of Flames players are playing in outside where they are used to such type of environment."

"The likes of Mponda, Kanyenda and others are conditioned to that kind of environment and they will withstand the heat."

Posted: 20/06/08 10:59