February 04, (THEWILL) – Egypt’s assistant coach, Diaa al-Sayed, has hinted on their need for more time to prepare for the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal, after defeating hosts Cameroon on penalties in Thursday’s semi-final.
In that semi-final, Carlos Queiroz, head coach of the Pharaohs of Egypt, was sent off from the managerial dugout for dissent, leaving al-Sayed in charge of the final moments of the pensive extra time and penalty shootouts. He will also take charge of the team in the final while Queiroz will be in the stands.
Speaking after their third straight extra time game of the knockout stages, al-Sayed said: “I want to state to all CAF authorities that Senegal have one extra day to train and therefore maybe we should play the final on Monday.”
After a goalless 120 minutes in Yaounde, Egypt triumphed 3-1 in a shootout, while Senegal defeated Burkina Faso 3-1 in normal time the day before.
THEWILL recalls that the difficulty Egypt has had finding the net in regulation time has seen them needing extra time, and sometimes penalties to progress. Against Ivory Coast, it went to penalties when full time ended goalless. In the quarter-finals, they beat Morocco 2-1 in extra time and Cameroon needed penalties again.
The strain and exhaustion this will have put on the team will be massive and will affect recovery and training but it remains to be seen if CAF will effect a postponement of the game due to that reason alone.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
