After the newspaper went to press, Egypt's national team was scheduled to confront Tunisia at the Aviation Defense Stadium for their second station in the 2015 AFCON qualifications just three days after losing their first match 0-2 to Senegal in Dakar. Nearly 5,000 fans were allowed to attend the match for the first time to back the wounded national team. Under the leadership of Shawki Gharieb, the newly appointed technical manager, the Egyptian Pharaohs carried on after their return from Senegal. Carrying the weight of responsibility that missing this match might demolish the team's chances of qualification, the team refused to rest for fear of absenting themselves for the third edition after winning the title seven times. The players and their technical team were harshly attacked after the loss. Egyptian fans were glued in front of TV screens in cafes and clubs to watch the match and cheer the team, which alas was not up to the challenge. “I left my house and went to watch the match in a café in spite of it being expensive. I was afraid the electricity cut off so I resorted to a café with an electrical generator,” said one fan, Ahmed Mamdouh. In their Group E clash in Dakar, Egypt lost 0-2 to Senegal through two goals scored by Mame Biram Diouf and Sadio Mane in the first half to hand the Egyptians a harsh blow. The Egyptians lacked everything: defense, physical fitness and even team spirit. They were very weak in all their shots and unorganised. As Gharieb commented after the match, “The problem was not in the tactic or the players chosen, it was the fitness. Even Mohamed Salah, the professional Chelsea defender, whom we have depended a lot on, lacked complete fitness and had a negative effect on the team's performance.” Gharieb defended his tactics by saying that they had used the same ones in their friendly against the Bosnian team.The Senegalese had the upper hand all through the game from the start whistle. Commenting on the match, Alain Giresse, the Senegalese head coach, expressed his excitement at the idea of winning the first match, as he told Cafonline. “It is great for the players to start with a victory. We were better so we deserved to win and the Pharaohs gave us the chance.” Meanwhile, Gharieb declared that he is forming a new team full of young players that are not yet well-trained to play as a team. “We have to give them the chance to make mistakes and learn from them. We can't just slaughter our players for a match or two. It is just the start.” As for the other opening day matches of the group phase of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015 qualifiers, the results were as follows: Nigeria were stunned 3-2 by visiting Congo, whilst Cote d'Ivoire and Tunisia came from behind to beat Sierra Leone and Botswana.South Africa beat Sudan 3-0 in Omdurman just as Cape Verde thumped Niger 3-1 in Niamey; Algeria beat Ethiopia 2-1 in Addis Ababa; Gabon overcame Angola, whilst Burkina Faso beat Lesotho. Cameroon beat DR Congo 2-0 and Cote d'Ivoire beat Sierra Leone 2-1. Ghana and Zambia were held at home by Uganda and Mozambique. Ten-man Guinea were 2-1 winners over Togo in Casablanca, whilst Tunisia beat Botswana 2-1.
