Egypt national team assistant coach Roger de Sa is still uncertain what the future holds after the Pharaohs were dumped out of the 2022 Fifa World Cup play-offs by Senegal this past week.
De Sa was roped into the Egyptian senior side by head coach Carlos Queiroz six months ago and their mandate was to get the former African champions to the World Cup in Qatar in November.
After their match against Senegal, Queiroz indicated he would resign as it was time for a new leadership. It has also been said that Liverpool FC star Mo Salah is also retiring from international football.
It was the second time Senegal outclassed Egypt via penalty kicks. Sadio Mané scored the winning kick as Senegal beat Egypt 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw to win the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in Cameroon in February.
De Sa said their contracts stipulated that they must book the team a place at the Qatar World Cup.
“We will know in a couple of days whether the federation is keen to keep us on board. Carlos did say that he was resigning but it has not been accepted,” De Sa told Sunday World. “I am certain that they want us to stay.”
The former Orlando Pirates, Platinum Stars and Bidvest Wits coach thinks they overachieved on what was expected of them “considering the difficult circumstances. We lost eight defenders and had to go with our ninth-choice defender at some stage. We held our own against a very strong and competitive Senegal team. Except for one, all their players are playing in the UEFA Champions League for the biggest teams in the world. We only have one or two players in the Champions League.
“We played 21 matches in six months and lost three games. We are now number four on the Africa rankings just after superpowers Senegal, Morocco and Nigeria.”
He said if he was no longer welcomed by the Egyptian federation, he would consider offers back home or elsewhere.
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