Egypt hires Carlos Queiroz as coach to revive WCup campaign

CAIRO (AP) — Carlos Queiroz was appointed Egypt coach on Wednesday, two days after Hossam el-Badry was fired following an unimpressive start to World Cup qualifying.

The Egypt Football Association said Queiroz would arrive in Cairo next week to take up his post. The former Portugal coach, who has worked in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, was most recently in charge of the Colombia national team.

He wrote on Twitter: “It is with pride, gratitude, and ambition that I accept the honorable invitation from the Egyptian FA to be the national team coach.”

Egypt is a record seven-time African champion but has struggled to maintain its status as the continent’s most successful team. The last of its African Cup titles came in 2010.

El-Badry was fired after Egypt scraped a 1-0 home win over Angola and needed a late equalizer for a 1-1 draw in Gabon in its first two World Cup qualifiers this month. That left Egypt second behind Libya in its qualifying group and in danger of missing the World Cup next year in Qatar.

Egypt’s next two games are against Libya in October.

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