Egypt coach Hassan Shehata intends to carry on unless he is told otherwise, despite defeat by South Africa
Shehata admitted that Egypt are facing an uphill climb to avoid the unthinkable prospect of missing out on the tournament they won in 2006, 2008 and 2010 under his guidance.
The winners of the 11 groups in the qualifiers and the best two second-placed teams will secure passage to next year’s Nations Cup finals in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Egypt are six points adrift of Group G leaders South Africa and five behind second-placed Niger with three matches remaining.
“Our hope is faint, but the least we can do is to bag 10 points come the end of the qualifiers,” the 61-year-old boss added.
Shehata, who has managed Egypt since succeeding Italian coach Marco Tardelli in early 2004, said he would make many changes to Egypt’s squad if he remained at the helm.
“I intend to make many changes if I stay. I have already decided to promote seven players from Egypt’s youth teams,” he said.
Shehata is arguably considered the best coach in Africa, having guided Egypt to an unprecedented three consecutive Nations Cup triumphs.
However, he couldn’t help the team end their World Cup jinx after they failed to win a place at last year’s tournament following a nail-biting race with North African rivals Algeria.
Watch Shehata’s interview with Ahmed Shobier on Modern Koora
Part 1
[youtube]U9AlW18bPtg[/youtube]Part 2
[youtube]xzldYHQkQwA[/youtube]Part 3
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Watch the Egyptian National Team arrival in Cairo from South Africa
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