Egypt head coach Rui Vitoria stressed that his side deserved the win against Ethiopia while believing the poor performance came due to the long break.

The Pharaohs concluded their AFCON qualifiers on a high after beating Ethiopia 1-0 at home, thanks to Mostafa Fathi’s first-half strike. Without the likes of Mohamed Salah, Mahmoud Trezeguet, and Mohamed Elneny, Vitoria was forced to make some changes to the starting XI, with some players also making a return to the national team, most notably Sam Morsy.

Speaking on the win, Vitoria said: “We deserved the win against Ethiopia despite the absences and the return of players after a long break,” adding: “Today’s match marked the beginning of the season for the players, some of whom did not reach their best performance yet. The absence of some key players was a major reason for not performing well, but the long break was the main reason.

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“We had 18 shots on Ethiopia’s goal, but luck was not on our side. Our defence also weakened in the second half. Not scoring the second goal gave Ethiopia confidence to attack us.”

Egypt will now prepare for a friendly against Tunisia on Tuesday, September 12, but without all four of Al Ahly players, Mohamed El-Shennawy, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Matwan Attia, and Mohamed Hany due to the Reds’ clash with USM Alger in the CAF Super Cup.