Only a victory will keep the Pharaohs' slim qualification hopes alive, as they lie at the bottom of Group C with a sole point after drawing with Zambia 1-1 and losing to Algeria 3-1.

Egypt boss Shehata will have to do without several key players in the critical tie.

Skipper Ahmed Hassan and striker Amr Zaki will both miss the game due to automatic suspension, while versatile midfielder Ahmed Fathi has been ruled out through injury.

Talented forward Mohamed Zidan and left back Sayed Mowad might not be able to feature in the game either, as both men sustained injuries in Egypt's 1-0 win over Italy in the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Shehata will probably field either Ahmed Raouf or Mohmaed Mohsen Abou-Greisha upfront in case Zidan is proven unfit.

Substitute striker Ahmed Abdul-Ghani has been sidelined after picking up a long-standing injury, so Raouf and Abou-Greisha are the most likely possibilities for Shehata to replace Zidan.

Fathi's absence might also oblige Shehata to play Ahmed Al-Muhammadi and Mohamed Hommos right from the start.

Promises

Ahead of the game, Egypt technical staff members and a good number of players reassured the fans that they will claim all three points.

"We can beat Rwanda home and away, and I think we have what it takes to win against Zambia and Algeria," Egypt captain Hassan told Al-Hayat TV.

"Our team is eager is reach this World Cup because it’s a final chance for a number of players to appear at such a top competition."

"Fans have been usually supporting us and that's what we hope to see at Cairo Stadium in the Rwanda game.

"But they also should be with us throughout the 90 minutes. We know we must score, but we don’t want to be in a hurry."

From his side, classy playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika said that he has absolutely nothing in mind except the decisive game.

"We all agreed to think of the upcoming Rwanda game before making any calculations about our position in the group," he told FilGoal.com.

"We need to take each game as a separate stage, and from there see how we will do."

New Squad

Rwanda coach Tucak Branko has rebuilt his squad of late by getting rid of nine players all at once, and naming new faces instead.

Said Makasi, Rwanda's top scorer in the preliminary round, was surprisingly eliminated in the process, while a host of players plying their trade abroad were included.

Influential midfielder Jean Mugiraneza was left out of the Wasps Amavubi's squad for the game after collecting two yellow cards.

He's expected to be replaced with Patrick Mutesa Mafisango.