CAIRO: Veteran defender Abdel-Zaher Al-Saqqa, who earned an Egypt call up for the first time in two years, firmly rebuffed reports that he asked coach Hassan Shehata to wear the skipper s armband. I don t have the right to make such a request because Ahmed Hassan, who began his Egypt career several years before …

CAIRO: Youngster Mohamed Talaat was left out of Ahly s squad for Monday s Egyptian Premier League match at home to ENPPI after failing to put in a fine display against Mansoura. Talaat, who was largely disappointing in Egypt s U-20 World Cup campaign on home soil, was given a chance to make amends when …

CAIRO: Zamalek goalkeeper Abdel-Wahed Al-Sayed might be part of Egypt s roster for the crucial World Cup qualifier at home to Algeria, goalkeeping coach Ahmed Soliman said on Sunday. Al-Sayed pulled off a string of impressive saves to help Zamalek claim a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Military Production in the Egyptian Premier League on Saturday. …

CAIRO: South African referee Jerome Damon will officiate at Egypt s crucial World Cup qualifier at home with Algeria next month, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said on Sunday. (World governing body) FIFA have announced that Damon will be in charge of the game, the EFA said in a brief statement on its website. Damon, …

CAIRO: Coach Hossam Al-Badri admitted on Sunday that most of Ahli s close-season signings did not come up to the team s standards. The Egyptian champions signed eight players in the summer, most of which arrived from second-division clubs. The likes of Mohamed Khalaf, Wael Shafik, Alaa Shaaban and Ateya Al-Belkasi were not given any …

CAIRO: Zamalek gave beleaguered coach Henri Michel some respite by claiming a hard-fought 3-2 victory over a brave Military Production side in the Egyptian Premier League on Saturday. An own goal from Ayman Al-Muhammadi gifted Zamalek an early lead before further strikes from Sherif Ashraf and Ghanaian midfielder Ibrahim Ayew left the hosts with a …

CAIRO: Military Production midfielder Mohamed Aboul-Ella voiced anger with the fans of his former club Zamalek after they taunted him during Saturday s Egyptian Premier League game. I m very sad at what happened from the crowd. I served Zamalek for many years so I do not deserve this, Aboul-Ella told FilGoal.com after the game. …

CAIRO: Henri Michel could become the second Zamalek coach to be sacked in less than two months after suffering a disastrous start to his adventure with the Cairo club, FilGoal.com learned. The Frenchman enjoyed a winning start after replacing Michel Decastel late in August when Zamalek defeated Ittihad 1-0 in the Egyptian Premier League but …

CAIRO: Playmaker Alaa Ali penned a new four-year contract with Zamalek, the Cairo club said on Saturday. Ali initially rejected to earn LE 300,000 per season, prompting Zamalek to up their offer to 400,000. The 21-year-old, who was frustrated to see the White Knights make a worthier offer to extend the contract of fellow youngster …

CAIRO: Mohamed Shawky s regular place in Egypt s squad will not be affected by his lack of playing time at Middlesbrough, a technical staff member said. The defensive midfielder hasn t made any competitive appearance with English second-division side Middlesbrough so far this season. He fell out of favor with coach Gareth Southgate and …

CAIRO: Ismaili chairman Nasr Aboul-Hassan called on local press to stop discussing “the alleged suspension of goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadari. The Egypt and Ismaili guardian was initially handed a ?900,000 fine and a four-month suspension for violating his contract with Ahly to join Swiss side Sion in February 2008. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) …

CAIRO: Ibrahim Saied made his debut with Libya s Ahli in their 3-0 Premier League victory over Al-Najma on Thursday. The Egyptian defender, who joined Ahli on a free transfer after terminating his contract with Ismaili in April, came on as a second-half substitute, wearing the number 44 shirt. He played his first match in …

CAIRO: Algeria coach Rabah Saadane pointed the finger at referee Yakhouba Keita for Algeria s failure to beat Rwanda by a wider margin than Saturday s 3-1 home victory. The Desert Foxes were hoping to register a bigger victory to virtually secure a place at next year s World Cup but the result means that …

CAIRO: Algeria claimed a 3-1 home victory over Rwanda which was not enough to virtually secure their place in the World Cup as Egypt maintained their hope of booking a place at next year s South Africa finals. Egypt assistant coach Hamada Sedki stated that Egypt had a substantial chance of reaching the World Cup. …

CAIRO: Egypt s crucial 1-0 victory at Zambia on Saturday did not assure coach Hassan Shehata that everything was in place to reach the World Cup. The Pharaohs kept alive their hopes of reaching the most important FIFA tournament when a thunderous second-half shot from Hosni Abd-Rabou gave them a precious victory – their third …

CAIRO: Mohamed Zidan has been given the green light to return to Egypt s fold, coach Hassan Shehata said on Saturday. The Borussia Dortmund striker fell out of favor with Shehata after skipping a friendly game against Guinea in August. He did not explain his action to further infuriate the highly-respected tactician, who left him …

CAIRO: Mohamed Abou-Trika said on Wednesday that Egypt s task to reach next year s World Cup finals in South Africa is “almost impossible. The Pharaohs were firm favorites to end their World Cup jinx, having last qualified for the tournament in 1990, after being handed a relatively favorable draw in the qualifiers. They were …

CAIRO: Egypt coach Hassan Shehata said he would not hand in his resignation if his side failed to overcome Zambia in Saturday s World Cup qualifier. Anything less than a win away to Zambia in the penultimate round of the World Cup qualifiers will damage Egypt s chances of reaching the tournament for the first …

CAIRO: UAE coach Mahdi Ali said he was grateful to Egyptian fans after his side advanced to the U-20 World Cup quarter finals on Wednesday. The Arab side were cheered by Egyptian attendees at Mubarak Stadium in Suez to come from a goal down and beat Venezuela 2-1. The fans support was brilliant, Ali told …

ISMAILIA: Ismaili chairman Nasr Aboul-Hassan rubbished rumors linking Hosni Abd-Rabou with a loan move to Zamalek. Central midfielder Abd-Rabou is currently playing for United Arab Emirates club Ahly on loan but there were widespread claims that he could end it in January and join Zamalek. He will not join Zamalek, he is already playing for …

CAIRO: Ahly are in the market for a new keeper to strengthen that position either in January or next summer, goalkeeping coach Ahmed Nagi said on Wednesday. We want to sign a new keeper. We have already lined up some names and we hope we can recruit one of them, Nagi told Egyptian Radio. We …

CAIRO: Winning the Egyptian Premier League is not one of Henri Michel s main objectives this season, the French coach said on Tuesday. Zamalek suffered their third defeat in six league games after losing 1-0 to Ismaili at Military Academy Stadium. It was also the second successive loss under Michel, who took over at the …

CAIRO: Ten-man Harras Hodoud alleviated their African woes after marking their return to the Egyptian Premier League action with a 2-0 home victory over Mansoura on Wednesday. Egyptian international striker Ahmed Abdel-Ghani put the hosts in front after 18 minutes to take his tally to four goals in as many games. Mansoura s Abdel-Aziz Hassan …

CAIRO: A depleted Ismaili side joined Petrojet and Ahly at the top with a 1-0 away victory over 10-man Zamalek, who slumped to their third defeat in six Egyptian Premier League games on Tuesday. Midfielder Amr Al-Sulaya scored the winner on 72 minutes as Zamalek, who last beat Ismaili in September 2006, were made to …

CAIRO: ENPPI qualified for the Confederation Cup semi-finals after claiming a deserved 3-1 victory over ES Setif in Algeria on Saturday. Ahmed Raouf and Zeka Goore scored two first-half goals and Alaa Issa added a third after the interval to give ENPPI an invaluable win. Setif, who scored a consolation via a free-kick from Hocine …

CAIRO: Zamalek coach Henri Michel says his side are still a work in progress following their surprising 1-0 defeat at home to Gaish in the Egyptian Premier League on Thursday. The Frenchman, who returned for a second stint with Zamalek, enjoyed a winning start when the Cairo giants beat Ittihad 1-0 last week, albeit in …

CAIRO: Gouna s lack of experience once again cost them, coach Ismail Youssef said following a 2-0 defeat to Arab Contractors. The Egyptian Premier League newcomers failed to build on their surprising 1-0 victory over Petrojet last week. Two goals from Alaa Kamal and Mohamed Samara sank them at Arab Contractors Stadium on Wednesday. We …

CAIRO: Egyptian midfielder Hossam Ghaly was left out of Nassr s squad for the Gulf Club Champions Cup. The Saudi club, who are allowed to register up to three foreigners in their squad, did not include Ghaly in their plans for the regional tournament. Brazilian defender Eder Gaucho, Korean striker Lee Chun-Soo and Argentinean midfielder …

CAIRO: Petrojet surrendered top spot after suffering a surprising 1-0 defeat by promoted Gouna in the Egyptian Premier League on Friday. Mokhtar Mokhtar s side were joint leaders with Ahly prior to the game after claiming seven points from three matches. However, a goal from attacking midfielder Ahmed Omran seven minutes past the hour mark …

CAIRO: Mohamed Barakat will be available for Ahly s Egyptian Premier League game against Masri on Wednesday, the player said. The mercurial midfielder was declared fit to take part in Ahly s clash at Gaish on Friday after recovering from a pelvic injury. He was initially included in the Red Devils squad for the match …