EFA requests explanation from Bradley after CAN failure
Hatem Maher, Sunday 1 Jul 2012
Egyptian Football Association asks American coach for 'technical report' following national team's failure to qualify for 2013 African Nations Cup


The Egyptian FA on Sunday asked Egypt coach Bob Bradley for an explanation following the team's failure to qualify for the African Nations Cup for the second tournament in a row.

The Pharaohs were only able to draw 1-1 against Central Africa on Saturday, suffering a stunning 4-3 aggregate defeat in the first qualifying round for next year's Nations Cup in South Africa.

"The EFA's executive committee has asked Bradley to provide a technical report in order to provide reasons for the defeat by Central Africa and pinpoint the obstacles that he faced," association spokesman Azmi Megahed said in a statement.

"I hope people will pardon Bradley, given that he worked under difficult circumstances after football activities were suspended in the wake of the [1 February] Port Said disaster, which led to a dip in form for the players due to the lack of competitive action," Megahed said.

"However, this doesn't mean the technical staff and players should not shoulder some responsibility for what happened. We all must stand shoulder to shoulder to realise the dream of reaching the 2014 World Cup," he added.

Egypt's failure to qualify for the 2012 Nations Cup led to the departure of former coach Hassan Shehata. American boss Bob Bradley is unlikely to suffer the same fate, however, given Egypt's strong start in their World Cup qualifying campaign under his guidance.

The seven-time African champions collected the maximum six points in Group G after beating Mozambique and Guinea in their first two matches.

"We never discussed the possibility of sacking Bradley," Megahed was quoted as saying by the local media.

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