Egypt coach Hossam Hassan hailed the quality on display at the Africa Cup of Nations as his side readied to play in Wednesday’s semifinal, calling the month-long event in Morocco a “ferocious tournament”.
The 59-year-old former striker should know better than most, winning three tournaments as a player and making the last of his seven tournament appearances at the age of 39.
He is now coaching at the event for the first time, taking Egypt to the last four as they search for their first title since 2010.
“The standard of African football has increased markedly with the quality of players in each team being very impressive,” he said on Tuesday.
“There have been so many teams here with world class players, not only the experienced players but also youngsters, who have match-winning ability and an incredible skill set."
Egypt have won the tournament a record seven times, but they start as underdogs for the semifinal against Senegal in Tangiers.
“Every side has its weaknesses, and we have studied Senegal in depth as we have planned for this game. We are sure they will be analysing our approach, too, so this could be decided on the small details,” Hassan predicted.
Hassan has come in for some criticism after Egypt needed extra time to overcome Benin in the round of 16. They were then on the back foot for most of the quarterfinal against Ivory Coast.
“I don’t give a damn about that,” Hassan told reporters at the pre-match conference on Tuesday.
“There are those who have confidence in what we are trying to achieve and those who are sceptical. I pay it no attention.”
Much has been made of this possibly being a last chance for 33-year-old Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah to win a trophy with the national team.
Egypt teammate Mahmoud Trezeguet, like Salah, has lost in two previous Cup of Nations finals, but he has no doubt that Salah still has the quality to finish the job.
“Salah is, for me, the best player out there,” Trezeguet said.