Aguirre: Egypt's performance against Zimbabwe satisfactory

by Austin Ditlhobolo

Saturday Jun 22, 2019. 10:00

Egypt head coach Javier Aguirre was satisfied with his side's performance following their narrow win over Zimbabwe in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) opening game.

The tournament hosts secured a 1-0 victory over the Warriors thanks to Trezeguet's first-half goal at the Cairo International Airport on Friday.

Mexican tactician Aguirre reflected on his team's victory in the Group A encounter which saw the Pharaohs miss many clear cut chances on the night.

“Our performance against Zimbabwe was satisfactory, but we left many spaces in the midfield,” Aguirre said.

“The opponents’ movements were very fast and caused us a lot of problems. Zimbabwe’s performance improved in the second-half. We played against a very organized team.

“We missed many clear-cut chances, including Mohamed Salah’s one-on-one chance. Our performance dropped in the second-half due to the pressure we faced as well as fatigue," he added.

“Zimbabwe had nothing to lose after conceding, which made them attack and create chances. We will work on fixing the problems in the upcoming games

“We must win every game if we want to achieve our main target, which is the title.”

Egypt will now take on DR Congo in their second match on Wednesday.