The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced on Sunday that they have terminated the contract of Portuguese coach Rui Vitoria, following Egypt’s disappointing exit from the last-16 round of the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast a week ago.
Vitoria’s contract was set to continue until the 2026 World Cup, but due to Egypt’s dismal Cup of Nations campaign, which ended in a shootout loss to the Democratic Republic of Congo following a 1-1 draw, his tenure was brought to an abrupt end.
The EFA also relieved Vitoria’s entire backroom staff of their duties and announced that Mohamed Youssef, a former coach of Al Ahly who led the Egyptian giants to the African Champions League title in 2013, would take over on an interim basis.
In a statement released by the EFA, it was revealed that they are currently looking at the CVs of foreign coaches to take over from Vitoria permanently.
Vitoria was appointed as Egypt’s boss in 2022, taking over a side that was struggling with a drastic slump in form following their run to the Cup of Nations final in Cameroon a few months earlier.
Initially, things looked promising for Egypt, with marked improvement in attack and comfortably booking their place at the Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast.
They also won their opening two games of the World Cup qualifiers.
However, they produced some lackluster displays in the Ivory Coast, making it to the last 16 under three straight 2-2 draws before DR Congo ended their hopes of winning a record-extending eighth Cup of Nations title.
Unfortunately, Vitoria became the latest casualty of the tournament, following the departures of Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi, Gambia’s Tom Saintfiet, Ghana’s Chris Hughton, Tunisia’s Jalel Kadri, Tanzania’s Adel Amrouche and Ivory Coast boss Jean-Louis Gasset.
