16/1/2006

Tottenham striker Mido predicted he and his Egyptian teammates would face off against Cote d'Ivoire in the African Nations Cup final next month in Cairo.

"I think Egypt will play Cote d'Ivoire in the final," Ahmed 'Mido' Hossam told the Egyptian weekly Al-Fajr published Monday.

Spurs' inspirational 22-year-old voiced his optimism that Egypt had the skill and the determination to make up for failing to reach the World Cup finals in Germany later this year.

"We have to dream and be optimistic, there's no point in crying over spilled milk," said Mido, adding he was confident that the Pharaohs could lift a fifth African trophy on February 10.

He nevertheless described the Ivorian squad -- spearheaded by Chelsea striker Didier Drogba -- as "the best prepared team on the continent".

Commentators in Egypt have been criticising the Egyptian line-up and predicting it would struggle to go beyond the group stages while many have put their money on Cote d'Ivoire to lift a second continental trophy.

But Mido banked on the home advantage to defeat Egypt's rivals.

"Playing the cup at home in front of our fans will make a tremendous difference. In addition, we have a very strong team that can win any competition," he said.

Seeded Egypt will first confront Cote d'Ivoire on January 28 in a very competitive group A, which also includes Morocco and Libya. The other seeded nations are Cameroon, holders Tunisia and Nigeria.