Carlos Queiroz steps down as Egypt manager after failure to reach 2022 World Cup

Carlos Queiroz announced his immediate departure from his role as Egypt manager after the penalty shootout defeat to Senegal ended their hopes of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.

Queiroz took charge of the Pharaohs in September last year and led the team to the Africa Cup of Nations final in February, where they also lost in a penalty shootout to Senegal. It was a case of history repeating itself on Tuesday as another shootout defeat to Senegal put paid to their hopes of reaching Qatar.

A clause in Queiroz's contract stipulated that it would be terminated if Egypt failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, and the Portuguese coach confirmed he would be stepping down with immediate effect.

“It’s time for me to leave the leadership of Egypt to someone else,” Queiroz said. “Today my dream was to get Egypt for the fifth time to me to the World Cup, but it was [Aliou] Cisse who qualified with Senegal.

“The game is over. We unfortunately failed to reach the World Cup. It’s all over and there’s not a lot of things to say. I congratulate [my players] on the game they played and I also congratulate Senegal after playing a big game. We should not forget that Senegal will represent Africa in the World Cup and we wish them good luck.

“Egypt will start preparing for the upcoming tournaments as well as the qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup.”

The tie ended 1-1 after Senegal won the second leg 1-0, following Egypt's one-goal victory in Cairo in the first fixture. The contest was settled in a penalty shootout that saw Mohamed Salah, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, and Mostafa Mohamed all miss their spot kicks, with Salah subjected to laser pens being shone in his face as he prepared to take his penalty. As was the case in the Afcon final,