LAGOS, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Egypt say they are not about to take their foot off the pedal when they tackle Zambia in their final Group C tie at the Baba Yara Stadium on Wednesday.
The five-time champions lead their first round group with six points from two matches. They have scored seven goals and let in two.
"We came here to win. Our responsibility is greater than the other teams here in Ghana because we are the defending champions. We are here to retain our title," said coach Hassan Shehata.
"We may have won our first two games but we have not qualified for the next round yet and so we are looking forward to our next game against Zambia. We won't take Zambia for granted. They are a very organized team and still have a chance to qualify. So are Cameroon," he said.
Shehata added, "This is a very competitive championship as we saw with Angola beating Senegal on Sunday. By Monday morning, only Cote d'Ivoire have qualified for the quarter-finals and that is why we are taking it a game at a time."
Egypt were crowned African champions in 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998 and 2006. On three of these occasions they were the tournament hosts.
Their run at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations is in sharp contrast to their labored qualifying campaign when they only booked their ticket to Ghana on the final day from a group that included Mauritania, Burundi and Botswana.
It is widely believed that Cameroon will beat Sudan in the other Group C game to be played at the same time in Tamale, Ghana.
