CAIRO - Hassan Shehata has stepped down as Egypt's coach. At a meeting Monday, he agreed with the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) that it should terminate his contract. "EFA and Shehata approved to end the contract between the two parties, especially as it was going to expire anyway, if the Pharaohs qualified for the ACN," Azmi Megahed, EFA spokesman said. All the national team technical staff have been sacked. Megahed added that the team would not be without the services of Shehata in two matches against Malawi and Niger in the fifth and sixth rounds of the African Cup of Nations (ACN). A large number of coaches, experts and former players critisised Hassan Shehata, the coach of the Egyptian national team, after the Pharaohs squandered their chances to reach the 2012 African Cup of Nations for the first time since 1978. Defending champions Egypt were practically eliminated from the 2012 African Cup of Nations (ACN) after a 0-0 draw with South Africa in Cairo Sunday night. Ali Abou-Greisha, a football expert, said that Shehata must resign. "Although Shehata made unprecedented achievements when grabbing the ACN title three times, he must resign now," Abou-Greisha said. Taher Abu Zeid, Al-Ahly ex-player and former national team player, said that there was a flaw in the administrative system of football, because the national team didn't have a renewal in nearly six years. "It is unreasonable that the team didn't have alternatives players for each position," Abu Zeid stated, stressing that Egypt's golden generation, who won three ACN tournaments, must get new faces. "The team needs a new technical coach," Abu Zeid added. Mokhtar Mokhtar agreed, saying that Shehata should go now. Zamalek's ex-coach Tareq Yehia explained that it would be wrong if Shehata continued with the national team after the great success in the 2010 ACN held in Angola. Samir Adly, the Managing Director of the Egyptian national team, denied reports that coach Shehata had resigned, saying that the coaching committee led by Shehata would discuss the whole matter with the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) during an urgent meeting tonight. The Pharaohs are currently at the bottom of the Group G table with two points, behind South Africa (eight), Niger (six) and Sierra Leone (five) at the halfway stage. While the majority of fans are unhappy with the players, Al-Ahly's coach defended Shehata and his players. Yet the Portuguese coach expressed extreme sadness about the Egyptian team's bad performance. "I am very sad, but the fans should support the coach and players for their great achievements," Jose said after the game. They have not won a match in the qualifying group and dropped to the bottom with just two points. South Africa are now one win away from ensuring top place in Group G and qualification to the 2012 finals after a tense game at the Military Academy Stadium in the Egyptian capital. Egypt Captain Ahmed Hassan believes the Pharaohs struggled to deal with the intense pressure when playing against Bafana Bafana on Sunday night. "Pressure was the reason behind Egypt's disappointing draw against South Africa. "It was obvious that the players were nervous; this had a direct impact on their performance," Hassan said. "They felt under enormous pressure, because victory was the only option, but I am sure that there was no carelessness." Veteran goalkeeper Essam el-Hadari made several important stops to thwart South African breakaways and his opposite number Itumeleng Khune also produced key stops, notably just before halftime from Ahmed El-Mohamady. Egypt have won the last three African Cup of Nations titles and left the field while their supporters were cheering. Former winners Algeria, Cameroon and Nigeria are other teams in trouble with just two rounds left of the competition that will deliver 14 teams to join co-hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea January ACN. Côte d'Ivoire has qualified after a 6-2 win away at Benin, becoming the second country – after surprise package Botswana – to claim one of the 14 places at the finals. Also Sunday, a late equalizer by captain Joseph Yobo rescued a point for Nigeria in Ethiopia and under-pressure Tunisia beat Chad 5-0. Burkina Faso's 4-1 away win over Namibia in Group F put them one point away from a Nations Cup final place. Uganda, 2-0 winners over GuineaBissau on Saturday, will qualify for the first time since 1978 if they can force an away draw against second-placed Angola in their next Group J game in September.
