Carlos Queiroz appreciates constructive criticisms after Gabon win

Before the start of the round,

had sealed their qualification for the third round as they led the group with 13 points.

Notwithstanding featuring with a new starting line-up, the Pharaohs were still able to seal a victory after

Johann Obiang

met the back of his own net in the 75th minute to help Egypt keep their unbeaten run in the

qualifiers.

Although the display was not impressive,

Carlos Queiroz

thinks he got what he needed from the matches.

“

We were the best team during the match and created many chances. We certainly deserved to win. We learned a lot during the match and brought in a good number of new players,”

Queiroz said in the post-match press conference.

“We played four matches and drew once, which was an away game, and we won three matches. So the players deserve more appreciation. Now we have to think of a plan to prepare for the future. We have to think about things on and off the field.

“It’s difficult to be the absolute best in football, you always plan to be the best. We have four players who didn’t participate because of the fear of being suspended due to the number of bookings. We also have injured players and therefore we had to try a number of players instead of them.

“When substitute players come into the game and win, it means we are on the right track. We have 23 players that we want to take advantage of. The coach always plays with 23 or 30 players and unlike the press, we don’t just take into consideration 11 players.

“No one believed that Ahmed Yassin, Marwan Hamdi, or those new players would ever play for the Egyptian national team. But now they participated and wore the Egypt jersey and deserved that, and they will be with us in the future.

“The past is not part of my work. work for the present and the future only. When we talk about the past we can go back to the pyramids, the pharaohs, and the great history of Egypt.

“When a player like Mohamed Salah participates, everyone is waiting for something exceptional to happen. We played without him in the first half, but I always expect something new from any player entering the field.

“Egypt plays for its reputation, we defend our shirt, and at the same time, it is difficult to maintain the competitive mentality of the player, especially if we already qualified.

“In addition to that, too many games were played at this stadium. The players did their best and we have to thank them.

“We have a new challenge coming, which is the Arab Cup. We have to work for it, and we also want to prepare well for the Africa Cup of Nations.

“The

match was just an opportunity to give the players more experience and improve the team’s more performance.

“The Egyptian national team shirt weighs 200 grams, but when the players enter the stadium, it weighs 1,000 kilograms, so we have to support the players and give them experience.

“I thank the many people who gave me constructive criticism. These criticisms are free advice to me. I used to have paid advice, but these criticisms are free, so I have to thank those who do this work,”

he concluded.

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