By Amr Shaheen BBC Sport Online,Cairo

Egypt coach Mohsen Saleh has named his 20-man squad for the 2004 Nations Cup qualifying match against Madagascar in Antananarivo.

This follows an intense month of preparation, in which the Pharaohs had victories over Ethiopia, Uganda & Sudan and lost to Libya.

Saleh, who said he will build a new Egyptian team around young talent, opted to recall Hany Ramzy, Yasser Radwan and Mohammed Emara - all experienced players - for the encounter.

But veteran striker Hossam Hassan and Hazem Emam, currently seeking a move to Europe, have been left out.

Unlucky

A key absentee from the squad is Ajax striker, Ahmed "Mido" Hossam, who is injured.

Ahmed Salah, who plays for Ghent in Belgium, has been drafted in as a last-minute replacement.

Despite Madagascar's lowly reputation in African football, the Egyptian manager will not be taking his opponents for granted.

"Madagascar is not a weak opponent. Their players are fast and they have some talented players too," said Saleh.

Egypt's qualifying group has been reduced to three teams, after the withdrawal of Guinea Bissau.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Essam El Hadary (Ahly), Abdelwahed El Sayed (Zamalek) and Tarek Soulyman (Arab Contractors)

Defenders: Yasser Radwan (Ahly), Abdelzaher El Saka (Genclebirligi, Turkey), Amr Fahiem (Ismaili), Wael Gomaa (Ahly), Shiko (Arab Contractors), Mohamed Emara (Ahly) and Sayed Meeawad (Ismaili).

Midfielders: Hany Ramzy (Kaiserslautern, Germany), Khamies Gafar (Ismaili), Mohamed Shawky (Masry), Ahmed Hassan (Genclebirligi,Turkey), Hossam Ghaly (Ahly) and Mohamed Barakat (Ismaili).

Strikers: Khaled Bibo (Ahly), Abdelhaliem Aly (Zamalek), Ahmed Salah (Ghent -Belgium) and Ahmed Belal (Ahly).