Egypt's Queiroz on shock Afsha & Sherif omissions

Carlos Queiroz, the new head coach of the Egyptian national soccer team

Tuesday Oct 05, 2021. 16:00

Egypt head coach Carlos Queiroz has refused to explain why he omitted Al Ahly stars Mohamed Magdy Afsha and Mohamed Sherif from his squad.

The Pharaohs are set to take on their North African rivals, Libya in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers later this month and they will be without two influential attackers.

Afsha has not missed a single national team camp since October 2019, while Sherif has scored four goals in his six appearances for Egypt.

“I don’t like to talk about a specific player in the Egyptian national team, and since I took up this task, I love and encourage anything that represents Egypt,” Queiroz told King Fut.

“I don’t like to talk about any player individually, and you will not hear me one day talking about any player in particular, no matter what.”

Egypt are currently placed second on their qualifying group (Group F) standings – two points behind the leaders, Libya.

The Pharaohs will play host to Libya in Alexandria on October 8, before travelling to Benghazi where they are scheduled to clash in their fourth Group F game.

“The preparation for the Libya match took only five days, which is not enough, but we can work and prepare for the game,” Portuguese tactician Queiroz continued.

“Libya is a strong opponent, but we know very well its weaknesses and strengths. The Egyptian national team is lucky to have a distinguished group of players in all positions.”