كتب : Ahmed Saied
"People think that Egypt have already secured a place in the quarter-finals but this is not correct," Fathi told FilGoal.com over the phone from Angola.
"We will not qualify until we beat Mozambique, which are a very good team."
The Pharaohs beat Nigeria 3-1 in the Nations Cup Group C opener as Mozambique came from two goals down to hold Benin to a 2-2 draw.
Analysts in Egyptian press and TV said Egypt manager Hassan Shehata will face only one problem which is playing against 'a chaotic Mozambique side'.
Fathi, a two-time African Cup of Nations winner in 2006 and 2008, disagrees.
"Mozambique are very organized and have very talented players," he said.
"May be those who say that saw this team once. But those who watched Mozambique carefully know it won't be an easy match."
The Ahli man, who can be take up several defensive and midfield roles, said Shehata will display a briefing of Mozambique's game against Benin for the players to study.
Egypt should be able to count on the five players who have been hit by flu on Saturday, according to assistant coach Hamada Sedki.
Starters Hosni Abd-Rabou, Hossam Ghaly, Wael Gomaa and Emad Meteb are all down with flu as well as veteran defender Abdul-Zaher Al-Saqqa.
But Fathi fears that more players might suffer from the same problem.
"The weather in Angola is very hot and the hotel rooms are air-conditioned. This difference was the reason behind the flu," the 25-year-old explained.