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Coach Cuper apologises for letting Egyptians down in AFCON final

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Coach Cuper apologises for letting Egyptians down in AFCON final

After the Pharaohs of Egypt threw away their lead to lose 2-1 to the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final, Egypt coach Hector Cuper has said he’s sorry for not meeting the expectations of the people.

Egypt took the lead in the 22nd minute of the game when Mohamed Elneny struck in the opener, but in a thrilling second half, Cameroon came from behind with goals from Nicolas Nkoulou and Vincent Aboubakar to seal the victory in Gabon.

“Congratulations to Cameroon for the victory. They played well,” said Cuper after the game at Libreville.

“We have finished this competition with a defeat but I think they did a great job.

“I’m just sorry that we couldn’t give happiness to the people of Egypt because I imagine that there was a lot of expectation among them.”

Read Also: Cameroon Coach: My players made the difference

The Sunday defeat was the latest in a long line of painful final defeats for the Argentinian’s career. He had notably lost two UEFA Champions League finals with Valencia, and a Cup Winners’ Cup final with Mallorca in the past.

“I’ve lost another final? I’m not going to say I’m used to it but it’s one more for me!

“The sadness I have is not because I lost another final, it’s because there was so much hope especially among the people in Egypt and I am sorry for the players who put in so much effort,” he added.

Cuper was employed by the Egyptian FA mainly to qualify the Nation for the Russia 2018 World Cup, and so far in the qualification matches, Egypt have won their two games which keeps them at the top of the group.

 

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