Cairo  - While football fans from the participating countries at the Confederations Cup will be looking towards the draw for the competition on November 22 in Johannesburg for answers, Egyptian fans already know in which group they will play.

The reigning African champions will compete in Group B, as the hosts South Africa have been placed in Group A and no two teams from the same confederation can be placed in the same group.

But if the Pharaohs' fans know what group their team will be playing in, they are less sure how good the team will be, even if team officials are optimistic.

"Whatever the result of the draw is, we are the champions of Africa and we aim to do well," Shawqi Ghareeb, the general coach of the national team, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"Whether we meet Italy, Spain or Brazil in the first round, we would be happy to play against any of these champions," he added.

This is Egypt's second participation in the Confederations Cup after their participation in the 1999 edition hosted by Mexico and they are still waiting for their first win.

In 1999 they managed respectable 2-2 draws against the hosts Mexico and Bolivia, but were beaten by Saudi Arabia.

Ghareeb believes that the first match is the hardest, whoever the opponent is. He tries to coach his team members that a good start leads to a good end, a belief that proved successful for him and his team in the African Cup of Nations (ACN) 2006 and 2008.

Last October, FIFA President Joseph Blatter expressed his high expectations for the Egyptian national team at the 2009 Confederations Cup. He was quoted by the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) as saying that Egypt "would be fighting for the first place."

"The FIFA president has been following our team, for three to four years now. He had seen the level of players in both 2006 and 2008," said Ghareeb, referring to Egypt's fifth and sixth victories at the showpiece of African football.

Ghareeb says that all members of his team are "proud of Blatter's statements" and hope they can meet his expectations.

Egypt's matches are never a one man show, Ghareeb argues.

Depending on a blend of new and veteran players, the team, headed by Coach Hassan Shehata, combines players who are relatively unknown and those with international experience.

Ghareeb's confidence arises from his professional football players, who are spread all over the globe.

Middlesbrough's Ahmed Hossam 'Mido', Borussia Dortmund striker Mohamed Zidan, Wigan's Amr Zaki, and Emad Moteb of Ittihad Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), will next year likely be joined by locally-based stars like captain Ahmed Hassan and Mohamed Abou Treika of Al Ahly at the June 14-28 tournament.

"Training for the Confederations Cup will come at the same time as the World Cup's qualifications, so we will be preparing for both competitions at the same time," says Ghareeb.

The Egyptian national team will be involved in several World Cup qualifying matches next year.

"Qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa will be the incentive for our team members to come to Confederations Cup and produce one of their best results ever," Ghareeb concludes. (dpa)