Hector Cuper sad to exclude some of his players

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Wednesday Jun 13, 2018. 13:00

Egypt national team coach Hector Cuper says it was tough to exclude some of his players as they prepare for the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament.

Cúper surprised many by not including the likes of Ahmed Hassan ‘Koka’ and Karim Hafez, especially after the duo had been included in his squad for the past couple of years.

The exclusion of ‘Koka’ was especially criticised, as the Argentine only included one striker in the squad heading to the World Cup.

“It was hard for me to exclude some players,” Cúper told MBC Masr tv channel.

“When I look at the squad and don’t see some players who were with us in the last period, I feel bad and it is possible that I made some mistakes in my decisions, I am human.

“But excluding a player means including another one and if it was for me I would have included all the players.

“It’s hard to choose because I might forget some, but there are some injured players such as Rami Rabiaa and Ahmed El-Shennawy.

“Risks are always present, but before I include a player I have to know how he’ll suit the national team’s style of play.”

Meanwhile, the North Africans are up against Uruguay on Friday in their opening Group A match at Ekaterinburg Arena, kick-off is at 14:00 (CAT).

However, star attacker Mohamed Salah remains doubtful for the clash after suffering a shoulder injury three weeks ago.