Egypt coach, Javier Aguirre, has revealed who caused his side’s 1-0 loss to South Africa in the round of 16 of the African Cup of Nations on Saturday.
South Africa shocked the host nation in front of their huge crowd to progress to the quarter-final where they will face Nigeria.
The former Japan and Mexico coach blamed himself for the loss.
Aguirre, who was sacked immediately after defeat, signed a four-year deal to replace Hector Cuper last year.
“I am the one responsible [for Egypt’s exit],” Aguirre said at the post-match news conference.
“I’m responsible for all the selections and the end results, but I’m still proud of this group of players.”
Aguirre, who had also managed Atletico Madrid in his long tenure as a coach, seemed resigned to fate as well.
“The next step will be decided after I meet with the Egyptian FA board tomorrow,” he said following the match, though the decision was apparently taken to part ways prior to any meeting on Sunday.
And the manager believes the game was decided by his side’s inability to put away their scoring chances against Bafana Bafana.
“The game was open and witnessed scoring chances; the only difference was that South Africa scored a goal that helped them to qualify.
“We also had our chances but couldn’t convert them,” he concluded.
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