Egypt settle for Ehab Galal to take charge of national team

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) have announced the appointment of Ehab Galal as the newest Pharaohs manager following the departure of Portuguese tactician Carlos Queiroz.

A few days ago, the EFA announced the termination of Queiroz’s contract as the Egyptian national team manager after failing to reach an agreement with the man who took charge of the team for the past seven months.

During his stint, the former Manchester United assistant manager failed to beat reigning African champions Senegal in two crucial encounters. First, he lost to the Lions of Teranga in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final before losing again to the Aliou Cisse coached side in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Play Offs as Egypt missed the ticket to Qatar.

Overall, Queiroz won 13 games, drew in two, and suffered five defeats, two of which came in the Arab Cup where they reached the semis.

End of the road: Queiroz quits Egypt job after two dreadful defeats to Senegal

With the Portuguese’s exit, multiple names surfaced as candidates for the job, including Ehab Galal, Hossam Hassan, Ali Maher, Vahid Halilhodžić, former coach Hector Cuper, and even managerial legend Hassan Shehata.

However, when the EFA confirmed that they will only consider Egyptians for the role, the list was narrowed down to only Hossam Hassan and Ehab Galal.

In an announcement on Tuesday evening, Galal was announced as the new manager having been so close to taking the job back in 2019 after the departure of Javier Aguirre, before it was given to Hossam El-Badry.

“The Board of Directors of the Egyptian Football Association decided, in its session today, Tuesday, headed by Professor Gamal Allam, to appoint Captain Ehab Galal as technical director of the first Egyptian team during the next stage,” EFA posted.

Galal will now leave his role as Pyramids FC manager, which he took back last September after a short stint with Ismaily. This season, the head coach has steered Pyramids to the quarter finals of the 2021/2022 CAF Confederation Cup where they face TP Mazembe this Sunday. They are also placed third on the league table, just two points behind Al Ahly.