Egypt was the better side against Malawi and deserved win, says coach Vitoria

Ahmed Abd El Rasoul , Saturday 25 Mar 2023

The Egypt team was the better side and deserved Friday’s 2-0 home win against Malawi according to coach Rui Vitoria who insisted that getting full control of the game is the strategy of the Pharaohs going forward.

Rui Vitoria (Photo: the EFA s official Facebook page)

Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush scored in the first half, giving coach Vitoria a win as the Pharaohs reclaimed the top spot in Group D in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

“We deserved to win. The first half was very strong and we reached the goal in different occasions, playing with enthusiasm. Our opponent could not reach our goal,” Vitoria said in the press conference after the game.

“Our performance retreated a little bit in the second half, but we managed to keep our lead despite the fact that we had other chances to score. The Malawi team did not have any clear opportunity to score,” added the Portuguese tactician who took over the seven-time African Champions in July 2022.

Egypt's team will fly to Malawi on Saturday to play them on Tuesday in the next round.

The Pharaohs now have six points after three games while Malawi is at the bottom with three points.

“We will directly start preparations for next game. We are hoping for a bright future for this team and the players have the needed passion,” the Egypt coach added.

“I always play to dominate football and get full control of the game. We dominated 84 percent of the first half and 75 percent of the whole game. This is the needed for the national team,” he concluded.

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)