Egypt Under-23 coach Shawky Gharib believes their country's football fans deserved to be given something to cheer about following the heartbreak of failing to win the Africa Cup of Nations in July.
The Junior Pharaohs were crowned Africa Under-23 Nations Cup champions on Friday after beating Ivory Coast 2-1 in the final at Cairo International Stadium.
Al Ahly winger Ramadan Sobhi struck Egypt's winning goal in extra time after substitute Aboubacar Doumbia had equalised for Ivory Coast one minute before full-time, to nullify Karim El Eraki's opener for the hosts.
After the Egyptian senior team did not win the Afcon finals on home soil earlier this year by failing to get past the Round of 16, Gharib's Under-23 side made up for that embarrassment.
"It was so important to make all those people happy," Gharib was quoting as saying by Al Ahram as per beIN Sports after the match, pointing to fans.
"Three months ago, they left the stadium unhappy, but today it's another story."
The former Egypt international midfielder said he was always confident that his side were going to be crowned champions.
"I didn't feel that we were going to lose the match; I trusted my scenario," Gharib added.
"Now I'm finally going to sleep well."
The Egypt Under-23s will now focus on next year's Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo, Japan.
Talk of Liverpool star Mohamed Salah being included in the Olympics squad is already dominating football discourse in Egypt.
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