Egypt s Ehab Galal Mohamed Maaney gives instructions to his players during their friendly soccer match between South Korea and Egypt at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, June 14, 2022. (AP)
The 54-year-old coach, who was named Egypt’s coach last April, has been under fire since the team’s stunning 2-0 loss to minnows Ethiopia in a Nations Cup qualifier on 9 June, where the Pharaohs suffered a humiliation in a one-sided affair.
The defeat came hot on the heels on another uninspiring performance in Galal's debut, although Egypt managed to secure a late 1-0 home win over Guinea in their opening Group D game of the qualifiers.
On Tuesday the Pharaohs slumped to a heavy 4-1 defeat against South Korea in a friendly, mounting the pressure on the under-fire coach.
“I would like to thank coach Ehab Galal, a very respectful man, who has worked under some tough circumstances. I want to apologise to him, but sometimes the pressure is too much and we saw it would be better for everyone to change,” board member Hazem Emam said during a press conference.
The EFA appointed Galal as Pharaohs coach on 25 April after they opted not to renew the deal with Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, whose contract expired after the Pharaohs’ failure in the World Cup qualifiers.
Egypt missed out on the chance to reach the Qatar 2022 World Cup after losing to Senegal on penalties in the final phase of the qualifiers.
“I have a lot of respect for Queiroz and he did a very good job in a very short period. I think that now everybody appreciates what he has done. We are in talks with several foreign coaches, but I can’t reveal their names know. I received a lot of resumes and we have open channels with a number of them, and as soon as we reach an agreement it will be announced," he concluded.
Egypt’s upcoming commitment in the Nations Cup qualifiers will be next September when they host Malawi in Cairo.
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