Ali Maher leads Egypt tactical session ahead of Malawi double-header

Egypt head coach Ali Maher held a tactical lecture during training as his squad prepared for two Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Malawi on 13 and 17 November.

Using a screen, Maher outlined a series of tactical ideas and set-piece routines for the players to apply on the pitch.

The session also marked the first time the entire Egypt squad had assembled under the national team’s new coaching staff.

Egypt’s training camp began on Monday evening under Maher, who was recently appointed as the team’s head coach. Mohamed Salah, the Trabzonspor forward, joined the camp on Tuesday morning, followed by the other overseas-based players.

Those arrivals included Celtic player Haitham Hassan, Barcelona striker Hamza Abdel Karim and Nordsjælland forward Ibrahim Adel.

Nice defender Mohamed Abdelmonem also took part in the training session despite his injury, with the camp set to assess his condition and determine whether he will be able to play.

Maher heads a coaching team that includes Mohamed Abdel Karim and Tamer Mostafa as assistant coaches. Mostafa Fathy is the goalkeeping coach, while Mahmoud Selim and Abdelrahman El-Zoghby are performance analysts.

Diego Giacchino and Wael Raafat are responsible for physical conditioning and workload planning.

The Egyptian Football Association will hold a news conference at 13:00 on Wednesday to present Maher and the rest of the new coaching staff.

Egypt currently lead Group B with four points, ahead of Angola on goal difference. Malawi are third with three points, while South Sudan are bottom without a point.

Egypt began their qualifying campaign with a goalless draw against Angola before recording a 5-0 victory over South Sudan in their second match.