Egypt has dismissed Portuguese manager Rui Vitoria in the aftermath of their unsatisfactory Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Ivory Coast.
The Pharaohs were eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16, experiencing an 8-7 penalty shootout defeat against DR Congo in San Pedro.
Throughout the tournament, Egypt faced challenges, failing to secure a victory in any of their matches.
The team also grappled with the setback of an early injury to their influential captain, Mohamed Salah.
In the group stage, Egypt encountered three consecutive 2-2 draws against Mozambique, Ghana, and Cape Verde before their eventual defeat to DR Congo.
The Egypt Football Association (EFA) said in a statement on Sunday that, as a result of a board of directors meeting, 53-year-old Vitorica and his whole backroom team had been fired.
Mohamed Youssef, a former Al Ahly coach, has been appointed as Egypt’s interim manager although the EFA say they “will also study the CVs of [some] foreign coaches.”
In 2022, Vitoria, a former manager of Benfica and Spartak Moscow, was named Egypt’s new head coach, replacing Ehab Galal. He committed to a four-year contract that would have kept him eligible for the 2026 World Cup.
Prior to the commencement of the Afcon 2023, he led the Pharaohs to victory in 12 of his 14 games.
This featured their two victories to begin their World Cup qualifying campaign in 2026.
The firing of Vitoria coincides with several other coaches at Afcon 2023.
The following players left their teams: Algeria’s Adel Amrouche, Ghana’s Chris Hughton, Algeria’s Tom Saintfiet, Tunisia’s Joel Kadri, Tanzania’s Adel Amrouche, and Ivory Coast’s Jean-Louis Gasset.