Egypt coach Hector
Cuper says the Pharaohs are not ready to surrender the number one spot on the
Gabon 2017 Group G qualifying table, writing off Nigeria’s chances of
turning the tables on his team in their reverse fixture in Alexandria on
Tuesday.
Italy-based
Mohamed Salah scored a late equaliser to help the Pharaohs
hold the Super Eagles to a 1-1 draw in their first leg
clash in Kaduna on Saturday.
Egypt lead the
table on four points followed by Nigeria on two points.
Record seven-time African champions Pharaohs would have been
leading the table on seven points followed by the Eagles on five points if one
of their group rivals Chad had not withdrawn from the qualifiers.
Chad’s withdrawal
has thrown the group into a three-team race for the sole ticket to Gabon
2017.
Egypt, who had beaten
Chad 5-1 in the first leg fixture, are now on four points instead of seven.
Second-placed Nigeria
have lost three points as well, after their 2-0 victory over Chad was declared
as void.
Argentine manager
Cuper, who says he is happy about the performance of his team in
their Kaduna draw, say they would be out to pick up all
points to seal their place in the finals.
The 60-year-old
former Valencia and Inter Milan manager disagreed with Nigeria coach
Samson Siasia that the Pharaohs came to Kaduna to pick up a draw, hence they
opted for a defensive game.
“Siasia has the freedom
to say anything but we will attack in Alexandria and will try to win on our
pitch,” Cuper was quoted by Egyptian sports outlet Kingfut
as saying on Sunday.
He added, “We had a
strong first half from the tactical side, but in the second half we committed a
lot of mistakes and will work on improving.”
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