Panic for Super Eagles As Egypt National Team Coach Speaks Ahead of AFCON Clash With Nigeria

• Carlos Queiroz has boasted that the Egyptian national team are not in the Africa Cup of Nations to take a walk
• The tactician is already targeting victory in their opening fixture as they take on the Super Eagles of Nigeria on January 11
• Queiroz admitted that the major target of the Pharaohs is qualifying for the World Cup, but they are going for the AFCON title in Cameroon

Ahead of the kick-off of the 2021 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, coach of the Egyptian national team Carlos Queiroz has stated that his side are not in the competition to take a walk, Complete Sports reports.

Drawn in Group D alongside Nigeria, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau, the Pharaohs begin their quest for their eight continental against the Super Eagles on January 11.

Queiroz is already targeting all three points against Nigeria as they hope to replicate the feat at the 2010 AFCON tournament in Angola where they were victorious 3-1.

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Egypt then went on to win their seventh title at that tournament after defeating Ghana by a one goal in the final.

What did the coach say?

Speaking ahead of the clash with Nigeria, Queiroz said as per Kingfut:

“Our goal in the AFCON is to try to win every game, build a winning mentality because in March we will play the final stage of the qualifiers.

“I will only have four days before it. I know that Egypt has a great history in the AFCON, but our goal remains to qualify for the World Cup. I was not the one who set qualifying for the World Cup as the main goal for the team.

“FIFA put the Club World Cup at the same time as the AFCON, and this reflects on the importance of the qualifiers, which will take place by themselves in March.

“We have to play better than the team was 10 years ago. All the teams that we will face in the tournament are doing better now than they were in 2010. We’re not going to AFCON to take a walk, we are going to win.

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“We need a winning mentality, when we win the first game we will want to win the next match and so on, this is our mentality. I want a stable, strong, and harmonious team that is able to go to the final stage of the qualifiers.”

Iheanacho tells African stars to show class at AFCON

Meanwhile, Sports Brief earlier reported that Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho has urged fellow AFCON-bound stars to show class at the continental showpiece which starts on January 9.

The Super Eagles star has been included in Nigeria’s squad for the biennial competition and the build up to the tournament is already heating up.

Many believe the AFCON tournament is not well respected in Europe and now Iheanacho has urged his fellow superstars to show that Africa deserves more.