AFCON: Egypt wants final date postponed

Yemi Sodeeq

After defeating Cameroon on penalties in the semi-final of the ongoing AFCON in Cameroon, the Egyptian National team has asked the organisers of the competition to extend the date of the final billed for Sunday, February 6.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Egypt National Team Assistant Coach Diaa al-Sayed asked for the delay of the weekend’s final against Senegal to give them more time to prepare.

“I want to state to all CAF authorities that Senegal has one extra day to train and therefore maybe we should play the final on Monday,” He said.

The leadership role fell on
Diaa al-Sayed after coach Carlos Queiroz was shown a red card during the semi-final by Referee Bakary Papa Gassama.

Egypt will be looking forward to their eighth AFCON title when they face the last AFCON finalist, Senegal in the final on Sunday.

Egypt won 3-1 from the shoot-out after a goalless 120 minutes in Yaounde, while Senegal had earlier overcome Burkina Faso 3-1 in normal time on Wednesday.

The host, Cameroon will be hoping to clinch bronze medals as a consolation when they face Burkinafaso in the third-place final billed for Saturday, February 5.

It is now unclear whether the Organisers of the tournament will consider the Pharaohs’ request which seems odd in the annals of the second oldest competition in the world.

The final, no doubt is going to be a cracker when the Liverpool aces- Sadio Mane of Senegal and
Egypt’s Mohammed Sallah throw in their hats from both sides of the pitch in the quest for their continental trophy.