Egypt coach Vitoria hopes to discover new talents in South Sudan friendly

The Pharaohs will host South Sudan in their inaugural friendly game on Sunday at Cairo International Stadium.

The 53-year-old coach sees this as an opportunity to give playing time to new players and assess their abilities ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

“The friendly game against South Sudan is a chance to discover new talents,” Vitoria told the pre-game press conference.

The Portuguese tactician have decided to rest six of his regular players from this game.

Vitoria also expressed his frustration with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for sending the dates of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers games very late, which prevented them from organizing a friendly game against a strong team.

“We were searching for a friendly game against a top-level team, but CAF sent the date of the Guinea game late on 21 May, and we couldn’t find suitable opponents,” Vitoria said.

“We don’t mind playing a friendly game against any strong teams,” he added.

Egypt have already booked their place in the 2023 AFCON, which is scheduled to take place in Cote d’Ivoire in January 2024.

South Sudan, on the other hand, are at the bottom of Group G of the qualifiers with three points, six points behind leaders Mali.

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