Afcon Qualifiers: El-Badry explains Arsenal's Elneny's non-participation vs Kenya

Egypt head coach Hossam El-Badry has explained why Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny did not play against Kenya during their Group G Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Thursday at Kasarani.

The midfielder was on the bench as the Pharaohs tackled the Harambee Stars in a qualifier, where they shared the points after a 1-1 draw.

The point was enough to take the north Africans to Cameroon 2022 while Kenya were eliminated as they needed a win to boost their chances of qualifying.

"[Mohamed] Elneny participated in only one training session before we travelled to Kenya," El-Badry said as was quoted by KingFut.

"There are other technical standards that I look at. The next match will probably see the presence of Elneny."

After taking an early lead, the African heavyweights were not dominant and allowed the Harambee Stars to fight back and eventually restored parity, and the coach explained what could have slowed his players down.

"The last period saw several players, whether local or abroad, suffer fatigue from the pressure of the matches, but in the end, the goal was achieved," he added.

The coach also revealed why defender Ahmed Hegazi will not feature against Comoros in a tie that will decide the group winner on March 27.

"[Ahmed] Hegazi left us after the game and headed directly to the airport; however, the rest of the foreign-based players will remain with us for the next game," El-Badry continued.

"There will be new faces that will get their chances against Comoros, but for sure we will deal with the game with seriousness."

The coach further explained his charges might have struggled in Nairobi as a result of the altitude in the Kenyan capital.

“I didn’t want to speak about the oxygen levels, but of course this is an element that we had to deal with. I wanted to win, but thank god we achieved the goal," he concluded.

El-Badry's assessment of the game came after Egyptian legend Wael Gomaa claimed they were out of shape against the Harambee Stars.

"The national team has no shape," Gomaa said. "We used to criticize the team under former coach Hector Cuper, but at least there was a defensive shape and we played on the counterattack." 

"What matches should be won and which should be played? Is this a final? We didn’t win today [Thursday] and didn’t play well.

"I was optimistic before the match, but the goal we conceded shows how unorganized we were.

"But I didn’t see a clear style of play. The players weren’t eager to play for the Egyptian national team and there was no teamwork.

"What matches should be won and which should be played? Is this a final? We didn’t win today [Thursday] and didn’t play well,” the former Al Ahly SC star added.

"I was optimistic before the match, but the goal we conceded shows how unorganized we were.

"But I didn’t see a clear style of play. The players weren’t eager to play for the Egyptian national team and there was no teamwork."

Although he excused head coach Hossam El-Badry from blame, he demanded that a clear playing philosophy should be seen.

"Yes, I sought excuses for Hossam El-Badry, as a result of the lack of training camps, but we must see a proper style of play at times."

As Egypt and Comoros will battle for the top group position, eliminated Togo and Kenya will battle in Lome in a dead rubber.