Afcon 2019: Aguirre pleased with Egypt performance

Egypt coach Javier Aguirre says he is satisfied with his side’s performance, following their 1-0 win over Zimbabwe in the opening match of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

The hosts won it through Mahmoud Trezeguet, as his nicely taken shot in the 41^st minute of first half sealed all three points for the Pharaohs.

We've got the goal of the day for you courtesy of @Pharaohs' Mahmoud Trezeguet. How do you rate it? 👀@1xbet_Eng #TotalAFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/2UdP5ruazE

— CAF (@CAF_Online) June 22, 2019

Egypt had a number of chances in the first half with Mohamed Salah, Marwan Mohsen and Abdallah El-Said coming close but Zimbabwe keeper Edmore Sibanda was on top of his game, preventing the favourites from netting an early goal.

Egypt’s performance in the latter stages of the encounter has caused concerns among some fans. But a content Aguirre revealed after the game that the performance of his charges dropped due to fatigue.

“We gave a satisfactory performance. Our game dropped in the second-half due to the pressure we faced as well as fatigue.

“Zimbabwe had nothing to lose after conceding, which made them attack and create chances. We will work on fixing the problems in the upcoming games,” the 60-year-old Mexican tactician said in his post-match press conference.

“The opponents’ movements were very fast and caused us a lot of problems. Zimbabwe’s performance improved in the second-half. We played against a very organized team. We must win every game if we want to achieve our main target, which is the title,” Aguirre added.

The win puts Egypt top of group A ahead of Uganda’s clash against DR Congo on Saturday.

The Pharaohs’ next game will be against DR Congo on Wednesday, June 26, with the hosts securing their spot in the round of 16 if they win against the Leopards.