Egypt coach applauds historic win

Egypt coach Hassan Shehata praised his side for successfully defending their Africa Cup of Nations title despite being unfancied to win in west Africa.

“Ghana was always going to be difficult with so many strong teams (south of the Sahara), but we did well,” he said.

The Pharaohs’ secured a record-breaking sixth title with a 1-0 win over Cameroon in the Accra final.

“We tried to take the game with good football, for Egypt and for the fans, and it proved enough to win,” he added.

The victory meant Shehata joins an exclusive club of two coaches who have won back-to-back titles.

The defending champions ensured the win when Mohamed Zidan forced an error from Cameroon captain Rigobert Song to play in Mohamed Aboutrika for the only goal of the game.

And Aboutrika said he hoped they could take their dominance into the build up towards the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

“We are delighted to win. It’s a great achievement,” said the Al Ahly star.

“It is a great feeling to score for the country, but it’s not about me scoring goals but it’s about all the players and the 80 million people supporting us back home.

“It’s an amazing feeling to win the tournament away from home,” said Aboutrika.

“It’s even better to win it two times in a row.”

After beating Cameroon in their opening group game, Shehata’s men recorded victories over Sudan, Angola and then Ivory Coast in the semi-finals.

The only minor blemish on an otherwise perfect passage to the continental trophy was the 1-1 draw with Zambia.


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