"They are strong and so are we," Shehata told a press conference.

"We came here to retain our title and we are on the right path," added Shehata, who has a history with the Ivorians.

Shehata's only competitive defeat since taking over as Egypt manager in November 2005 was in Abidjan.

Egypt lost 2-0 to Ivory Coast in the World Cup qualifiers as the Elephants moved on to reach the World Cup for the first time in their history.

A few months later, he steered Egypt to two victories over Ivory Coast in the 2006 African Cup, beating the then Henri Michel-led side 3-1 in the group stage before edging past them 4-2 on penalties in the final.

Their last encounter was a friendly in Paris in August 2007 where they settled for a goalless draw.

"Both sides will attack from the start," Shehata predicted. "We know each other very well. There are no secrets."