VOLGOGRAD: Egypt coach Hector Cuper said it was possible that his team’s farewell match against Saudi Arabia on Monday would also be his last in charge after an unsuccessful campaign in Russia.

Egypt lost their first two games against Uruguay and hosts Russia, crushing the hopes of fans that prolific striker Mohamed Salah, des­pite his recent shoulder inj­ury, would lead the Afri­cans into the knockout stages.

Instead, their campaign will peter out against Saudi Arabia, who also head home after Monday’s match in Volgograd having lost both their opening games too.

“I have never excluded anything. It might be my last game and it might not. It will depend on a number of factors,” Cuper, who was named Egypt coach in 2015, said when asked by reporters about his future.

“Of course I would like to make everybody happy, to come up with something that everybody would agree with. But it’s impossible,” the Argentine said.

While saying there had been ‘small disagreements’ within the Egypt camp, Cuper added that he would not respond to questions about whether captain Essam El-Hadary had fallen out with the rest of the team.

“There might be small disagreements but I would like to hear evidence or proof of this,” he said. “If you don’t have evidence or proof, I won’t answer that question.”

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2018