Egypt 'realistic' ahead of World Cup

The Young Pharaohs open their World Cup campaign against Chile next week, hoping to repeat their 2001success when they finished third in Argentina.

“We have to be realistic and we should not put too much pressure on the players. We will take it one game at a time and see how it goes,” Yassin told FIFA.com in an interview.

“We can think about competing for the title when we have all factors of success in place, but we have to bear in mind that there are many problems in the youth sectors of Egyptian clubs.

“I hoped I would have eight, nine or ten foreign-based players in my squad for the World Cup.

“But we will do our best anyway to go as far as we can in the tournament. And regardless of the outcome, I can rate my reign as successful, given that most of my players are already playing regularly with their clubs.”

One striker

Talking tactics, Yassin played down worries that he only has Rio Ave’s Ahmed Hassan ‘Koka’ as the only proven goal-scorer he has in possession.

“We will mainly rely on those who come from behind to threaten our opponents,” the former Ahli and Egypt defender added.

“I hoped I would have another proven goal-scorer to play alongside Koka, but we have already managed to overcome some powerful teams at the African Championship with only one striker.”