February 04, (THEWILL) – The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced on Sunday, that they have sacked Portuguese manager Rui Vitoria just one week after Egypt’s shocking last-16 exit from the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast.
Vitoria’s contract was meant to run until the 2026 World Cup. However, Egypt’s lacklustre performance at the tournament, culminating in a penalty shootout defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo after a 1-1 draw brought a premature end to the 53-year-old’s tenure after only two years in charge.
The EFA stated that Vitoria and his entire backroom staff have been relieved of their duties with immediate effect. Mohamed Youssef, a former manager of Egyptian giants Al Ahly who led them to the African Champions League title in 2013, will take over as interim manager. The EFA added that they will also consider foreign candidates as they search for Vitoria’s permanent successor.
Vitoria was appointed as Egypt’s manager in 2022, taking over a side struggling drastically after their run to the Cup of Nations final months earlier in Cameroon. Initially, there were signs of promise as Egypt showed attacking improvements and comfortably qualified for the 2024 tournament, also winning their first two 2026 World Cup qualifiers under Vitoria.
However, a series of uninspiring performances in Ivory Coast saw them limp through the group stages with three straight 2-2 draws before crashing out to Congo. Vitoria has become the latest managerial casualty of a disappointing tournament that has also seen the departures of Algeria’s Djamel Belmadi, Gambia’s Tom Saintfiet, Ghana’s Chris Hughton, Tunisia’s Jalel Kadri, Tanzania’s Adel Amrouche and Ivory Coast’s Jean-Louis Gasset.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
