September 08, (THEWILL) – Two days after the coaching position in Egypt’s football team became vacant, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has confirmed the appointment of Carlos Queiroz, former Real Madrid boss, as coach of the Pharaohs.
Queiroz, who will be replacing Hossam El Badry, is scheduled to arrive in Egypt “at the end of next week” according to the EFA, which stopped short of providing concrete details about the contract that Queiroz accepted.
As THEWILL reported on Monday, the responsibility of qualifying the Pharaohs for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will now fall squarely on Queiroz’s shoulders in Group F, where they currently trail Libya.
On Tuesday, Libya beat Angola by a lone goal to reach six points after Matchday two and displaced Egypt from the top of the standings with a two-point cushion between both. The fact of Egypt slipping behind was a factor in the sacking of El Badry.
The immediate concern of the EFA is for the new manager to arrest the slide and restore Egypt’s group lead because only the group winners progress to Africa’s World Cup play-offs. Quieroz will begin this challenge to get Egypt back up with a double-header against Libya next month October.
As THEWILL reported, El Badry was sacked on Monday after Egypt needed a late goal to draw with Gabon in the qualifying series on Sunday. It was not encouraging either that they also struggled to beat Angola 1-0 on September 1, in the opening fixture of the Group F qualifiers.
The resume of the Portuguese coach is encompassing and colourful. The 68-year-old, who was born in Mozambique, worked with Sir Alex Ferguson as his assistant at Manchester United, either side of his time at Real Madrid. His resume includes time Queiroz spent as coach at the international level with Portugal, South Africa, Iran and most recently Colombia.
Coincidentally, Queiroz, who parted ways by mutual consent with Colombia in December, did so after what the football authorities in the South American country felt was a poor start to World Cup qualifying.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
