Striker Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet has apologized to the Egyptians after failing to reach the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Pharaohs quest of securing their eighth AFCON title dashed on Wednesday after succumbing to a narrow defeat to Senegal in a high-stake semi-final.
Sadio Mane, who now plies his trade for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia emerged as the hero after scoring the match-winner in the 78th-minute mark.
Egypt will now battle it out with Nigeria in the third-place clash scheduled for Saturday, January 17, 2026, with victory crucial to securing a bronze medal at the continental showpiece.
Ahead of the clash, Trezeguet has apologized to the Egyptian for the setback, while setting sights on victory against Nigeria.
“I apologize on behalf of my teammates. We wanted to reach the final, but God’s will be done. The coaching staff did everything they could, and no one fell short.”
“Since we arrived here, we have all been united. We hoped to return with the cup, but now we have an important match for a medal, and we will do our best to win it.”
“As I mentioned, no one fell short, but this is football and we will continue to learn and keep trying until the last day in order to make the Egyptian people happy.”
“Our focus is on winning against Nigeria, just like in all the previous matches. We have only lost one match,” he stressed.
“We did everything we could against Senegal, but luck wasn’t on our side, and we hope it will be on our side this time and we will achieve victory over Nigeria.”
