Egypt will face Senegal next Sunday in the final of the African Nations Cup, in a match that the Egyptian side believes will be held at a time that gives an advantage to their Senegalese rival.
Egypt beat Cameroon on penalties on Thursday, and Senegal qualified for the final the day before, after beating Burkina Faso 3-1.
"We are asking the Confederation of African Football to hold the final match on Monday," Egypt's assistant coach Diaa El-Sayed said, instead of Sunday.
Al-Sayed justified his position - during a press conference after the match yesterday, Thursday - noting that the Senegalese team had an extra day of rest, compared to the Pharaohs team.
And the Confederation of African Football decided - earlier - to submit the match to determine the third place to tomorrow, Saturday, instead of the day after tomorrow, Sunday, and no official position was issued from it regarding any modification to the date of the final match.
In the last edition of the African Nations (Egypt 2019), the two semi-final matches were held on the same day, and in the 2017 edition in Gabon, Egypt benefited from an additional day of rest compared to Cameroon, which crowned the title at the time by defeating Mohamed Salah’s comrades 2-1.
The technical staff of the Egyptian national team will face a difficult task in order to ensure the recovery of all players and restore their fitness after the "Pharaohs" played additional games in 3 consecutive matches.
The final match will be the first of three crucial confrontations between Egypt and Senegal in about two months.