Official: Queiroz leaves Egypt job

From Ogundele Olanrewaju

Former South Africa head coach Carlos Queiroz has officially announced his departure from Egypt after their defeat to Senegal in their 2022 FIFA World Cup play-off clash on Tuesday night.

Senegal and Egypt once again found themselves in the midst of a penalty shootout after a 1-1 aggregate draw over two legs.

This was a familiar position for both teams after they needed penalties to decide the winner of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in February, with the Lions of Teranga emerging triumphant.

In the shootout on Tuesday night, Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah went up first for the Pharaohs but skied his effort, while his compatriots Ahmed “Zizo” Sayed and Mostafa Mohamed also failed to find the back of the net from the spot.

It was Sadio Mane who scored Senegal’s winning penalty to secure a 3-1 victory in the shootout, and send his nation to the 2022 World Cup later this year.

After failing to take his team to Qatar, Queiroz’s Pharaohs contract had been terminated as per a clause in his deal, according to KingFut.

While there was speculation the Portuguese boss could end up staying on in Egypt, he announced his departure from the position in a post-match press conference.

“It’s time for me to leave the leadership of Egypt to someone else,” the 69-year-old said, per KingFut.

“Today my dream was to get Egypt for the fifth time to the World Cup, but it was [Senegal manager Aliou] Cisse who qualified with Senegal.

“The game is over. We, unfortunately, failed to reach the World Cup. It’s all over and there’s not a lot of things to say.