Elmohamady: Egypt focussed on topping Group J

by Graeme Jackson

Wednesday Oct 17, 2018. 12:00

Egypt captain Ahmed Elmohamady has underlined the Pharaohs desire to top their qualifying group, despite having already booked their place at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

The seven-time Afcon champions' place at next year's showpiece in Cameroon was sealed following Tunisia's 2-1 win over Niger in Niamey on Tuesday.

Egypt had defeated eSwatini 2-0 earlier on the day to put themselves on the cusp of qualification, before the result in Niger.

But despite having already qualified, Egypt are now hoping to go top of Group J with victory over the Eagles of Carthage next month before their game away to Niger next year.

“The win is important for the team, we will start now preparing for our clash with Tunisia in the fifth round,” Elmohamady said. “We’re eager to defeat Tunisia and Niger to lead the group and enhance our world ranking.”

“The Egyptian team squad includes top-level players, and [Javier] Aguirre is a great coach who helps the team attack strongly,” he added.

Egypt currently occupy 64th spot in the world, having fallen out of the top 50 following three successive defeats at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.