By Mark Gleeson
Egypt might be disappointed with the failure to reach the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final, but coach Hossam Hassan said on Friday it had been a good experience before the World Cup later this year.
Egypt lost in Wednesday’s semifinal to Senegal in Tangier but on Saturday will play Nigeria for the bronze medal at the tournament in Morocco.
“It has been good preparation for us; we’ve tried several systems of play throughout the tournament and played against different types of opponents,” Hassan said.
“We came close to the final, but that’s football,” he said of the 1-0 loss to Senegal.
“Overall, I’m satisfied with all that happened and what we achieved. We have a good team. We were away from home and did not have a lot of supporters.”
The match against Nigeria would be another opportunity to prepare for the World Cup, he added.
Egypt plays in Group G with Belgium first up in Seattle on June 15, New Zealand in Vancouver on June 21 and Iran on June 26 back in Seattle.
Hassan said Egypt might have fallen short because of a lack of players at top clubs in Europe, in contrast to the two finalists, Morocco and Senegal, whose squads are filled with players at top European teams.
“Players based in Europe gain better tactical acumen and become physically much stronger, and we need that added value to make us better,” he said.
Egypt’s 28-man squad had only three players based in Europe — captain Mohamed Salah from Liverpool, Omar Marmoush from Manchester City and Mostafa Mohamed from Nantes in Ligue 1.
“I think tomorrow’s [Saturday] game gives us a chance to continue preparations, but we always want to win. Egypt always plays to win; we are a team who have won seven Cup of Nations in the past,” Hassan said.
“We will evaluate after the competition where we need to improve. We will study the positive points to be much better in defence and attack,” he added.
Reuters
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