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Tunisia will look to end their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign on a high when they welcome a determined Egyptian outfit to the Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet in Monastir on Wednesday.
Kick-off is currently scheduled for 9pm but could be moved to 9:15 pm due to a problem with TV rights.
A win for the Eagles of Carthage will ensure they finish top of Group G, while Egypt will need a win if they were to stand a chance of qualifying for next year’s finals in Equatorial Guinea as the best third place finisher.
Tunisia currently top their group with 11 points, one ahead of second-placed Senegal while Egypt are in third, five points of the chase.
Qualification though is not completely out of reach for the Pharaohs who will qualify for next year’s event if they manage a win in Tunisia, coupled with a slip up from both Guinea and Congo while they must also hope the Democratic Republic of Congo fail to beat Sierra Leone convincingly.
Tunisia head coach Georges Leekens is delighted with his troops and explained following their goalless draw with Botswana at the weekend that he has been thinking of the World Cup in Russia in four years from now.
“We managed to qualify with one game to spare, it’s fantastic. It was difficult, but we had the perfect campaign,” said Leekens.
“I am thinking a little bit about the next World Cup, but we have a lot of work in front of us before that. We qualified for the 2015 Afcon, that’s already something. We will go step by step and see how far Tunisia can go.”
Egypt head coach Shawky Gharib has expressed that he is keen on remaining in charge of the national team despite Egypt’s disappointing qualifying results which could lead to them failing to qualify for Afcon for the third successive tournament.
“I never took any decision to jump ship during my career. I will remain in charge of the national team unless the EFA decide otherwise,” said Gharib following his side’s 1-0 loss to Senegal in Cairo.
Al Ahly striker Emad Meteb meanwhile has kept his faith in the Pharaohs’ qualification and rules out international retirement.
“I didn’t say I would retire from international football. I still have ambitions that I could be able to give more to the national team and I will do my best in an attempt to please the Egyptian crowd.
“We are sticking to the last hope next Wednesday, against Tunisia, and we won’t surrender.”
Egyptian keeper Ahmed El-Shennawy and midfielder Ibrahim Salah are unlikely to face Tunisia after suffering injury against Senegal on Saturday.
Ismaily 41-year old veteran keeper Essam El-Hadary called-up by national coach Shawky Gharib as a replacement for injured Ahmed El-Shennawy ahead of Tunisia clash.
The reverse fixture in September ended in a memorable 1-0 win for Tunisia.
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