"The team seemed to be in good form during their training sessions in South Africa, thanks to the efforts of the coaching staff," Zaher told the FA's official website.

A couple of months ago, demonstrations broke out all over Egypt to turn into a full-scale revolt that overthrew ex-president Hosni Mubarak on February 11, with security worries prompting the Egyptian Premier League to be halted.

The Pharaohs are suffering fitness problems as a result of the hiatus, which ends midway through April.

African champions Egypt, who are languishing at the bottom of Group G on one point, need to beat leaders South Africa in order to revive their qualification hopes.