WC 2022: Queiroz leaves after Egypt's failure to qualify

by Staff Reporter

Wednesday Mar 30, 2022. 14:00

Egypt head coach Carlos Queiroz has announced his departure after the Pharaohs failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar.

The North African giants were beaten 3-1 on penalties by the Lions of Teranga following a 1-1 draw on aggregate in the final round of qualifying in what was a repeat of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final.

Egypt captain Mohamed Salah missed the spot-kick during the penalty shoot, but his Liverpool FC teammate Sadio Mane converted the last spot-kick to send Senegal to this year’s finals.

Queiroz, who has been in charge of the Pharaohs since September 2021, revealed that he was parting ways with the Egyptian Football Association during the post-match conference.

“It’s time for me to leave the leadership of Egypt to someone else,” Queiroz said on King Fut.

“Today my dream was to get Egypt for the fifth time to me to the World Cup, but it was Cissé who qualified with Senegal.

“The game is over. We, unfortunately, failed to reach the World Cup. It’s all over and there’s not a lot of things to say.”

The Pharaohs had defeated the Lions of Teranga in the first-leg clash in Cairo last week Friday, but Hamdi Fathi’s own goal earned Senegal a 1-0 win in Dakar on Tuesday.

“We got to the penalty shootout and I think the Senegalese fans suffered a little bit during the game,” the former Portugal and South Africa coach added.

“You saw for yourself that we conceded an early goal in the opening five minutes. We started the game out of focus and at a high temperature, we don’t say these are reasons for the defeat.

“But they are contributing factors. Egypt will start preparing for the upcoming tournaments as well as the qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup.”