Egypt 'lacked a bit of luck' against Russia, claims Hector Cuper

Shina Oludare

•
Egypt 'lacked a bit of luck' against Russia, claims Hector Cuper image

Egypt coach Hector Cuper believes that his side were unfortunate not to get a positive result in Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat to Russia.

The Pharaohs desperately needed the victory against the hosts at Saint Petersburg Stadium in order to keep qualification ambitions alive, but Ahmed Fathi's own goal plus strikes from Denis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba put them on the verge of an early exit.

Cuper during the post-match conference said luck was against his team as they got punished for the ‘few minutes’ they made.

“I don’t think it was lack of concentration, we did make mistakes and were not good at defending, but we had a really good first half,” said Cuper.

“The whole match, and we had between 10 and 15 very bad minutes and that’s why we lost.

“We lacked a bit of luck to get the ball in the net, but in general terms I am happy because the players have done their very best, made an enormous effort, but one has to make the most of those goalscoring opportunities and make as few mistakes as possible.

“We had some good chances in the first half and didn’t make the most of it. Errors always happen in football.

“Nobody can be distracted when playing at a World Cup. Sometimes a mistake can be made, or the wrong step. Sometimes the opponent makes the most of it and others don’t.”

Egypt face Saudi Arabia in their last group game on Monday and the Argentine is hoping to finish the competition in the best manner.

“We still have another match to play,” he continued. “It’s difficult to say this but in a World Cup you have to wait until the very last minute, although it’s true that our chances our minimal.

“In regards to the defence, let me stress the team has always played a good role, always responded well. We had 10 or 15 very bad minutes where we made mistakes.

“During the first half of the match, we controlled aerial passes, our opponents were very tall, we didn’t finish some of the good situations we had.

“Whether I continue with the team or not, we’ll have to see. We’ll try to finish the World Cup in the best manner.”

Shina Oludare