Doha, Qatar: Egypt coach Helmi Toulan yesterday confirmed his strong desire for ‘The Pharaohs’ to make a strong appearance in the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025.
Egypt, drawn in Group C alongside Jordan, the UAE and Kuwait, open their Arab Cup campaign against the Kuwait at the Lusail Stadium today.
Egypt enter their sixth Arab Cup appearance, and have lifted the trophy in 1992 and reached the semi-finals twice, including in Qatar in 2021.
The Pharaohs, however, will be without several prominent stars. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush remain with their English clubs, Liverpool and Manchester City as Egypt’s senior squad finalise preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on December 21 in Morocco.
Kuwait arrive with confidence after defeating Mauritania 2-0 in the qualifiers at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. The Blues are making their ninth appearance at the Arab Cup and are chasing their first title under Portuguese coach Hélio Sousa.
Ahead of their opening clash at this year’s tournament, the Egyptian veteran said he wants to make an impact during his short stay with the team.
“I was chosen to coach the national team by chance and it will be for a limited period. We had a good preparatory period and played several friendly matches against Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, which helped us to assess the level and build a combination that brings together youth and experience,” Toulan said.
“We are entering the tournament with big goals, as we look forward to strong competition and I have great confidence in all the players. We were able to watch all the teams in the group and we have the ability to make a good history in the tournament.”
“We have great support from the Egyptian fans in Doha, who are the team’s primary supporters, in addition to the support from our fans inside Egypt,” Toulan said.
Sousa, meanwhile, said he is focused on building a strong team in the long run while achieving victories.
“We have played six preparatory matches since last September, and we are focusing on building a strong team and a combination that can perform at the desired level in the long term, our goal is to play a good match and achieve victory.”
“We have a difficult task ahead of us against a strong competitor with a lot of experience, and everyone knows that four years ago the Egyptian national team participated with the second team, similar to the current edition, and we saw three African teams in the semi-finals,” the Portuguese said.
With a strong crowd expected at the iconic FIFA World Cup final venue, both teams will be looking to improve on their head-to-head record in the Arab Cup today. The sides have met twice before in the Arab Cup, with Egypt winning 1-0 in 1992 and Kuwait claiming a 4-1 victory in 1998.
