Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has said the absence of some of his key players contributed to his side’s defeat to Nigeria’s Super Eagles, in the AFCON 2025 third-place match on Saturday.
The Super Eagles triumphed 4-2 on penalty shootout after 90 minutes of football ended goalless draw.
Premier League stars Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush had their spot kicks saved by Super Eagles first choice Stanley Nwabali.
It was a record-extending ninth bronze medal for the Super Eagles.
“Today (Saturday) we were missing half the team; seven players were unable to play,” Hassan said in his poat-match presser. “Yesterday (Friday), we worked in the training session and set our plan based on Marwan Attia and Salah Mohsen playing, then after dinner, we learned of their suspension before we went to sleep.The absences we had today could have been painful for any team.”
Concerning Egypt’s squad, which largely comprises local players, Hassan said: “All our players are from the Egyptian League; we have a local product with the exception of Marmoush, Salah, and Mostafa Mohamed. I am happy that our players are from the local league, and I hope we will have more professional players.”
He also commented on a record achieved by the Egyptian national team: “We played 21 international matches, and thankfully, we only lost one. This is a record for all of Africa.”
By James Agberebi in Casablanca
Photo by Ganiyu Yusuf in Casablanca
