The Egypt boss has reportedly warned his players about underestimating Bafana Bafana ahead of their second-leg qualifier for the 2024 CAF African Nations Championship later this week.
Egypt and Bafana played out a 1-1 draw in Bloemfontein on Sunday during the first-leg qualifier for CHAN.
The two teams will play the second leg on Sunday, 9 March, in Ismailia, with the winner set to face either Comoros or Malawi in the final round of qualifying.
Read: Manager 'facing 7-month ban' ahead of clash with Ngezana's FCSB
It is understood that the Egypt team arrived in Cairo on Tuesday, and it is reported that they will rest for the remainder of the day before resuming their preparations on Wednesday.
According to Cairo 24, although manager Wael Riad told the media that he was satisfied with the draw in the first-leg in South Africa, he has privately warned his players about underestimating Bafana in the return fixture.
It is said that Riad urged his players to remain focused on their objective, as the current scoreline leaves all possibilities open.
Egypt's media coordinator, Zaghloul Siam, revealed during a broadcast on Sada El-Balad channel that the Egyptian Football Association was pleased with the team's performance in South Africa following an arduous journey from the north to the south of the continent.
Moreover, it was said that the team only had three training sessions before facing Bafana.
CHAN was initially scheduled to be held from 1 to 28 February, with Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda as co-hosts, but the competition was postponed to August 2025.
The Bafana coach for the home-based national team, Molefi Ntseki, admitted that for South Africa, the 1-1 result was not ideal, as they will have it all to do in the second leg.
"The boys did very well in terms of performance, but the final result was not that pleasing, knowing very well that we still have to go to Egypt in the second leg," Ntseki said, according to SAFA.net.
"We saw how they conducted themselves, especially after scoring, when they were playing for time. Personally, I've played too many games against Egypt in the junior teams and also in the senior teams."
Read: Ramoreboli: Bafana could go far at AFCON
By Lukhanyo Mtuta
Follow him here on X