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Sacked Egyptian head coach Rui Vitoria |
In the interim, former al-Ahly coach Mohamed Youssef would take charge of the national side.
Rui Vitoria has been sacked as Egypt head coach after the
African football giants hopes of a record-extending eighth Africa Cup of
Nations triumph were dashed last week, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA)
announced.
In a statement, the EFA board of directors “thanked
Portuguese manager Rui Vitoria and his staff,” adding it was “reviewing foreign
coaches’ resumes”.
In the interim, former al-Ahly coach Mohamed Youssef would
take charge of the national side, who were knocked out of the competition last
week in a dramatic penalty shoot-out against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The loss in the last 16 was a bitter pill for the Egyptians,
who had gone to Ivory Coast hoping to win a first Cup of Nations since 2010, a
year before talisman Mohamed Salah made his senior international debut.
The team had already lost the Liverpool star to a hamstring
injury, after what local pundits called a lacklustre group stage performance
with three draws.
The EFA had last week “apologised” to Egyptian fans for “not
achieving their ambitions”.
Vitoria, whose tenure with the Pharoahs lasted under two
years, is among a host of AFCON coaches on their way out.
The tournament has been a success for the continent’s
underdogs, and disappointing for its heavyweights.
The five top-ranked African nations were all knocked out
before the quarter-finals, as well as the four semi-finalists from the last
edition.
AFP