José Peseiro salutes Egypt team, dismisses link between Capital Cup and Egypt Cup matches

Zamalek head coach José Peseiro held a press conference on Thursday to discuss the upcoming match against Ceramica Cleopatra in the Egypt Cup.

Zamalek will face Ceramica Cleopatra at 7:30 PM GMT tomorrow, Friday, at Cairo International Stadium, as part of the Egypt Cup semifinals.

Peseiro stated: "We are aiming to reach the Egypt Cup final, and we must deliver a great performance tomorrow. It will undoubtedly be a tough match, as the opponent is a strong team with high-quality players and a competent technical staff. Zamalek must be at its best."

The head coach continued:

"There is no connection between the Capital Cup matches and the Egypt Cup matches. We did not play the Capital Cup games with our main squad. I gave rest to some key players despite the absence of international players. Those from the main squad who participated played for a limited time."

"I believe Zamalek deserved to win against Petrojet in the last match, as the team played well. If the opponent had been stronger, it could have affected our confidence. We did not play with our full starting lineup and used the two matches to give opportunities to new players. We created many chances in the Petrojet match but lost due to two defensive mistakes. However, our confidence remains unshaken."

Peseiro added: "I understand the great responsibility since taking over Zamalek. We want to win the cup, but first we must overcome Ceramica as they are a well-organized and strong team. I have full confidence in Zamalek’s players."

He continued: "I chose to rest El-Wensh, Ben Taleb, and Abdallah El-Said in the Petrojet match. I had confidence in the available players to secure a win. We missed a penalty and wasted many opportunities, but I deliberately rested some players, trusting the squad that participated."

Peseiro also provided updates on the team’s injuries, saying: "Nasser Mansi and Ahmed Fatouh are improving. Nasser was ill, and Fatouh had a knee injury. We will assess them in today’s training session. We also need to evaluate Ahmed Mostafa ‘Zizo,’ as he played two matches with the national team and must be assessed before making a decision on his participation."

The head coach continued: "I would like to salute the Egyptian national team on their victories against Ethiopia and Sierra Leone. I also congratulate the players. I had hoped some of them would get more playing time, but ‘Zizo’ performed well."

"Seifeddine Jaziri scored a goal for Tunisia, which will boost his confidence. He had a recovery session yesterday after arriving in Cairo last night and will train today. Meanwhile, the other international players are fully ready for the upcoming match. I hope they trained well with their national teams."

Peseiro concluded by saying: "We need the fans' support. We play for them and strive to win to make them happy in the upcoming match."