CAIRO ― Egypt assistant coach Karam Moussa coach has apologised to the nation after the host nation crashed out at the group stage of the 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
Moussa also admitted that the team did not live up to expectation following their 4-0 hammering by Senegal on Saturday at the Cairo International Stadium.
The Pharaohs failed to win any of their three Group A matches losing to Nigeria and Senegal Mozambique had held them to a goalless draw in the opening match of the tournament.
Assistant coach Karam Moussa deputised for head coach Mahmoud Gaber at the post match press conference and offered the team’s apology to the entire nation.
“We would like to apologize to the fans,” the disappointed Moussa told journalists.
“We admit that the performance was not satisfactory, and nobody’s happy that we are out of the tournament in this way.”
Egypt were tipped as one the favourites for the 23rd edition of the biennial football jamboree.
“We participated in 3 tournaments and performed very well. Everyone expected that we would win the title, especially since the tournament was held on our land, but unfortunately this did not happen,” Moussa said.
“Today’s match was our goal to achieve victory, and this caused great pressure on the players.
“We performed very well in previous tournaments and possessed many good elements, but we were unable to show our capabilities properly in this tournament.”
