Ex-Algeria coach Saadane: We lost to Egypt on purpose

by Staff Reporter

Sunday Oct 28, 2018. 10:00

Former Algeria head coach Rabah Saâdane has disclosed the reason why the Desert Foxes were thumped by their North African rivals Egypt in 2010.

The Desert Foxes were thumped 4-0 by Egypt in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-final clash in Angola.

Hosny Abd-Rabo, Mohamed Abdel-Shafy, Mohamed Zidan and Mohamed Nagy all scored for Egypt.

It was two months after Egypt were defeated 1-0 by Algeria in Sudan in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier.

The 72-year-old coach has since claimed that Algeria after he was told to lose the match by those in power in Algeria.

“The match was 100% gifted to Egypt,” Rabah Saâdane said while on a show on Algerian TV.

“I will explain it to you, they sent me the message to lose to Egypt and I declined to do so. They told me that our Egyptian friends need to win the Africa Cup of Nations and we are going to the World Cup, let them have it so that they don’t get more problems back home.

“Just two months after Omdurman. I refused to sell my country. They lost 4-0 because I refused to sell my country. I was in charge and I refused. When we went on the pitch I understood what was going to happen from the performance, it doesn’t matter if we lost 4-0, 5-0 or 6-0. “I have no regrets, it is in the past."

Egypt went on to win their seventh AFCON title and their third on the trot.