Ehab Galal’s side suffered a shock 2-0 loss to Ethiopia in Malawi after being utterly outplayed as they failed to maintain a winning start to their African Nations Cup qualifying campaign on Thursday.
First-half goals from Dawa Hotessa and Shemeles Bekele, who plays for Egyptian side Gouna, condemned the Pharaohs to a bitter defeat in only Ehab Galal’s second match in charge.
It also marked Ethiopia’s first win over Egypt in 33 years, and their third overall.
The manner in which Egypt lost will increase pressure on former Pyramids FC and Zamalek coach Galal, whose appointment in April was met with doubts from pundits and fans alike, given his unimpressive track record compared with his predecessor, veteran Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz.
It has seen a big change to the betting markets for who will win the spot too, with these sites adjusting their odds on who will win the African Nations Cup qualifying campaign accordingly.
Egypt kicked off their Group D campaign with a 1-0 home win over Guinea last Sunday, but they were also unconvincing despite the presence of Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah, who Galal said had played through the pain barrier due to a minor injury.
But with Salah out of the Ethiopia clash and Egypt also missing several other regulars, especially in defence, they looked porous at the back and toothless upfront as Ethiopia took a firm grip on the game from the outset.
Egypt failed to muster a single effort on target in a disastrous first half and created their only real chance with two minutes remaining.
All four teams in the group — Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea and Malawi — are tied on three points after two rounds. The top two sides will advance to next year’s African Nations Cup finals in Cote d’Ivoire.
