Hossam El-Badry has defended his decision to keep Tarek Hamed on the bench in Egypt’s 1-0 triumph over Togo in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
After a shaky start to the race to Cameroon 2022 that saw them record draws against Comoros and Kenya, the North Africans were in dire need of a win against Claude Le Roy’s men to revive their diminishing chances of qualifying.
Despite the magnitude of the game, coach El-Badry opted to keep him as a substitute before bringing him on for Amr El-Sulya in the 81st minute.
Reports in the media suggest that the 60-year-old took that decision to spite the Zamalek star owing to their squabble, but the Pharaohs’ boss was quick to dismiss claims he had a problem with the 32-year-old.
“There was never a problem with Tarek Hamed. He is an excellent player just like all of his teammates,” El-Badry told MBC Masr per Kingfut.
Mahmoud Hamdy El Wensh’s header was all the seven-time African champions needed to silence the Hawks at the Cairo International Stadium – a result which moved them to second position in Group G having garnered five points from three games.
Without Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah who is currently recovering from Covid-19, they travel to Lome’s Stade de Kegue for their reverse fixture against the West Africans on Tuesday.
Former Tala'ea El-Gaish and Smouha star Hamed is likely to be handed a starter’s role as Amr El-Sulya has been ruled out of the encounter owing to the accumulation of yellow cards.
After winning the competition between 2006 and 2010, Egypt have struggled to impress in the tournament since then. Despite hosting the 2019 edition, they were kicked out in the Round of 16 by South Africa.
The 33rd edition of the biennial tournament was due to begin in Cameroon on January 9, 2021, but has now been pushed back to January 2022 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic across the continent.
