
Egypt s coach Rui Vitoria
Vitoria told reporters after the match that the long flight, the heat and humidity, as well as the artificial turf were all factors that affected his players’ performance.
“However, the crucial takeaway is that we secured the victory, scoring eight goals and conceding none in the first two qualifying rounds. This is a positive start for us, having already earned six points,” he said.
Egypt, who are aiming to reach their fourth World Cup finals, took the lead in the 18th minute through Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan and then doubled the score in the 62nd minute.
Vitoria praised his goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy, who made several crucial saves to keep a clean sheet, and Trezeguet, who was lively throughout the match.
“The top teams are the ones that can rely on their players when they need a solution. Today that was what El-Shennawy showed, when we needed our keeper we had a great one in the goal,” he said.
“Also Trezeguet was there for us especially when you score one or two goals and these are the one you needed for victory,” he added.
He also commended Sierra Leone for their spirited performance but said Egypt deserved the win.
The match was marred by some crowd trouble in the final 10 minutes, as some fans tried to reach Salah on the pitch, causing several stoppages.
Vitoria said the interruptions disrupted his team’s focus to some extent, but they managed to hold on to their lead.
Egypt are now top of Group D with six points. Sierra Leone are fifth with one point, while Djibouti have none.
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