“We are not worried about any team we meet” 

The Egyptian captain, Mohamed Fawzy, is full of confidence ahead of one of the beach soccer calendar’s most prestigious tournaments

The Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup Dubai 2018 is just around the corner, and even though the world’s best beach soccer teams await, Egypt’s captain appears to be far from nervous.

The competition is to take place between the 6th and the 10th of November at Dubai’s Kite Beach, and in a pre-event interview, Egypt’s goalkeeper was clearly thrilled to be returning to compete in the Intercontinental Cup for a fourth consecutive year…

 “We consider this tournament one of the greatest that we participate in.” Fawzy stated. “It selects the greatest teams in the world and is organized at the highest level.”, he added.

Egypt were drawn in Group A, alongside hosts UAE, newcomers Spain and world champions, as well as current holders of the Intercontinental Cup, Brazil. Recognising the quality that they will be up against in their opening matches in Dubai, Fawzy elaborated by discussing Egypt’s opponents, and how his side would combat them.

“Participating in this tournament and facing these top teams is a real test of our technical level, which we have been working on and developing by using more powerful and younger players, as well as practicing new tactics.”

However, despite expressing clear respect for his rivals, the Egyptian number one remains unfazed by the challenge.

“We are not worried about any team we meet. All the sides are the same for us. We just change our performance tactics depending on the team we play against.”

After competing in the Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup Dubai for four years straight, the Egypt national team are no strangers in Dubai.

Fawzy dedicated a few words to comment on the host city, and deliver a message of unity to the UAE. 

“We consider Dubai to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world and we always like to visit it because of the brotherly relationship between Egypt and the UAE.”

The last two years have seen Egypt finish in sixth position in the competition, and their best finish came in the debut appearance when they finished fourth, in 2015. 

If the words of the captain are anything to go by, 2018 could hold great things for this Egyptian side…