Egypt enhanced their reputation as one of the continent’s best sides by winning the title for a record seventh time after a 10- victory over Ghana in Sunday’s final in Angola.
But for all their mastery at the Nations Cup, Egypt have consistently failed to qualify for world soccer’s showcase event.
Egypt’s last appearance at the World Cup came in 1990 in Italy.
Their most recent qualifying flop came in November when they were beaten 1-0 in a play-off by Algeria to miss out on this year’s finals in South Africa.
Their World Cup failure contrasted starkly with their dominance in the Nations Cup, which led to coach Hassan Shehata calling his side the greatest ever in African football after Sunday’s victory.
When asked about the World Cup disappointment Shehata gave only a shrug of the shoulders.
Egypt’s success in Angola, however, did have something of a World Cup feel to it.
They thumped Algeria 4-0 in the semifinal in Benguela and beat three other World Cup-bound teams — Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria — en route to the title.
“This makes our success even better because it was the most difficult competition for us, having to beat four teams who have qualified for the World Cup,” assistant coach Shawki Gharib said.
Earlier in the tournament captain Ahjmed Hassan, again named player of the tournament, insisted winning three African titles was a better achievement than going to the World Cup. “It is true to say that every player dreams of playing at the Word Cup but I think three Nations Cup titles is better than the World Cup, where you probably play three games and go home,” he said.
Terry’s future
Meanwhile, England manager Fabio Capello will decide whether John Terry remains captain following widespread newspaper allegations about the player’s private life, the Italian’s FA bosses said on Monday.
The Chelsea defender has been the subject of intense media speculation for three days after an interim injunction he brought against a newspaper was lifted by a High Court judge last week. In a statement on its website (www.thefa.com), the FA said: “Fabio is fully up to speed with developments regarding John Terry.
“He spoke with our chairman Lord Triesman and chief executive Ian Watmore today, who both backed him to make the best decision for England on footballing grounds.
“Fabio is dealing with the matter in his own way using his extensive experience as a football manager,” the statement read.
Capello returns to England this week before traveling to Warsaw for Sunday’s Euro 2012 qualifying draw.
England’s next fixture is a friendly against African Nations Cup winners Egypt at Wembley Stadium on March 3.
Terry is expected to captain England at the World Cup in South Africa in June.
He put his troubles behind him on Saturday when he headed Chelsea’s winning goal in their 2-1 victory at Burnley where he was jeered and booed by the home fans every time he touched the ball.
