CAIRO: Egypt coach Hassan Shehata will have his contract renewed until the 2012 African Cup of Nations, a source in the team s technical staff said on Saturday.
Despite his failure to help the Pharaohs reach next year s World Cup finals, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) have decided to keep faith with the highly-respected tactician.
The EFA agreed to extend the contract of Shehata and all his assistants until the 2012 Nations Cup, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FilGoal.com.
Shehata will pen the new deal in the next few days.
The 60-year-old boss – whose appointment as Egypt coach in 2004 following the sacking of Italian Marco Tardelli was heavily criticized – led the team to two successive Nations Cup triumphs in 2006 and 2008.
Under his guidance, Egypt also impressed in the Confederations Cup earlier this year despite their first-round exit.
They produced a superb performance in their group stage opener against Brazil, who needed a last-gasp penalty from Kaka to secure a thrilling 4-3 victory, and upset world champions Italy with a 1-0 win.
Shehata was tipped to help Egypt end their World Cup jinx and book a place in next year s South Africa finals for the first time since 1990.
However, the six-time African champions, after a marathon campaign, fell at the last hurdle following a 1-0 loss to Algeria in a controversial one-off playoff in Sudan on Nov. 18.
Shehata will next lead Egypt in the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola where they will face Nigeria, Mozambique and Benin in Group C.
