Hazem Imam, the head of Egypt’s delegation at the Africa Cup of Nations, has characterized the defensive frailty of his country’s team as a “significant puzzle” after conceding six goals in three matches, marking the worst defensive record in the history of their group stage participations.
Egypt has drawn three times in the tournament held in Ivory Coast, facing Mozambique, Ghana, and Cape Verde, with each match resulting in a 2-2 scoreline.
This brings their total goals conceded to six, a stark contrast to their defensive performances in the previous three editions of the tournament in 2017, 2019, and 2021.
Hazem Imam, a legend of Zamalek and a star in Egyptian football who clinched the championship in 1998, expressed his perplexity in an interview with “France Press”: “Honestly, I don’t know (the reason for the problem).
There is a very strange puzzle.”
Attempting to provide insight, he mentioned, “The players are highly focused, but there is something abnormal, and the coach will work to fix it.”
Notably, the defensive duo of Ahmed Hegazi and Mohamed Abdel-Moneim, pillars of Egypt’s defense, were among the stars of the previous edition.
Imam, inheriting football prowess from his grandfather and father, suggested that it could be “fatigue, tiredness, or excessive concentration” from the players.
He added, “They are facing a tremendous responsibility, and they were afraid of exiting the group stage.”
Criticism has been directed at previous coaches, Argentine Hector Cuper and Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, in the 2017 and 2021 editions, respectively, due to an overly defensive style, despite reaching the final in both instances.
However, Egyptian media recently highlighted the defensive resilience of the Pharaohs during their tenures.
Responding to a question from “France Press,” the Portuguese coach of Egypt, Rui Vitoria, acknowledged after the draw with Cape Verde that “there are some mistakes that we can learn from to improve our performance.”
However, he added, “It is also crucial that we show a strong reaction after conceding goals.
We did that three times, and I believe the best is yet to come.”
