Abdul-Fattah said that head coach Bob Bradley has settled on giving Brad Guzan the nod ahead of the Everton keeper in the decisive Confederations Cup tie.

"Brad Guzan will start on Sunday, Howard will be on the bench," the Egyptian Abdul-Fattah told Al-Hayat TV.

"We had some tough games in the World Cup qualifiers before this competition, so the coach decided to rest Howard and give Guzan a chance."

Abdul-Fattah has also revealed that Fulham's Clint Dempsey is doubtful with a hamstring injury and that Monaco starlet Freddy Adu was excluded.

On the other hand, Egypt will be without Mohamed Zidan, while Ahmed Fathi and Sayed Moawad remain doubtful.

Both teams have a chance of making the semi-finals, even though the Americans' hopes are scant as they have no points ahead of the Group B finale.