13 of the nations competing for the Africa Cup of Nations qualified for the tournament to be held next year. Not amongst them was Egypt who should have had an easy win against Burundi but were forced to a draw. The highlight of the match was the early send off of Egyptian captain Ahmad Hassan, after he kicked a Burundi player in the face.
Now the Pharoahs require a home win against Botswana to qualify.
The loss of form is worrying Samir Zaher, the Egyptian FA president who is planning on meeting with coach Hassan Shehata in order to discuss the team’s poor away record. Egypt have not won a single game away from home since 2004 when they beat Sudan 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier.
Egypt was without its talisman, Mohamed Abou- Treika who sat out the match because of fitness concerns and without him the Pharaohs struggled to launch a coherent attack even as they fielded three strikers in Mido, Amr Zaki and Emad Meteb.