Egypt determined to retain TotalEnergies U23 AFCON title – skipper Ali Mohamed
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Egypt captain Ibrahim Adel Ali Mohamed says they are determined to retain the TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2023 (AFCON) title.
Ali Mohamed told CAF in an interview on Friday that they cannot wait to kick start their 2023 campaign in their opening Group B match against Niger on Sunday at the Ibn-Batouta Stadium, commonly known as the Grand Stade de Tangerin Tangier.
“We have prepared well and are hungry to retain this title and qualify for the Paris Olympic Games so that we also make Egyptians back home very happy,” added the attacking left winger who also features for Pyramids back in the Egyptian Premier League.
Speaking about the other seven teams that will battle in the competition the Egyptian captain made it clear that they won't underrate any team.
“Every team that qualified to play in the U-23 AFCON is good enough to be here, and we must respect them,” explained Ali Mohamed.
He however reasoned that they will take every match like a final because all the matches in the competition are very important.
“We are very focused and all the players are determined to prove a point,” added the skipper who was also part of the U-23 Egyptian squad at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
The Egyptian team will battle against Niger, Mali and Gabon in Group B.
In 2019 Egypt emerged champions in front of their home fans after a hard fought 2-1 win against Cote d’Ivoire after extra time at the Cairo International Stadium.
