File Photo: Egypt's former coach Hossam El-Badry (Photo: Reuters)
Egypt national football team manager Hossam El-Badry promised Thursday that the Pharaohs will qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations despite two disappointing draws in their last two games in the qualifiers.
"We suffered from the delay of the Egyptian Premier League games ahead of the Egypt national team preparatory camps that affected the players' readiness," El-Badry told a television programme.
The Pharaohs opened their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers campaign with a 1-1 draw to Kenya at Cairo International Stadium in November, following it up with an away match against Comoros that ended in a goalless draw.
"Despite the tough circumstances we didn't lose as the path in the qualifiers is still long, and our position is good in our group's rankings,” he added.
"I promise all that we will achieve our first target by qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations finals," El-Badry said.
"I am following the Egyptian Premier League closely and I could call-up new faces, including Zamalek and Olympic national team striker Mostafa Mohamed,” he added.
The 59-year-old tactician faced criticism due to a disappointing start of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
Since El-Badry's appointment in September, Egypt won two friendly matches in preparations for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, beating Botswana 1-0 in October before claiming a late 1-0 win over Liberia in early November.
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