Ramy Rabia shared his thoughts following the Mauritania match on the team’s performance and the importance of making the fans happy.
Egypt secured a 2-0 victory over Mauritania in the third round of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers making it the third win in a row and with nine points and three more games in the qualifying rounds.
The team’s chances of reaching the competition are looking more likely than ever, needing just one point -a draw- to secure qualification.
Speaking to beIN Sports, the defender said, “Our aim was to bring joy to the fans and secure the win early. Recently, fans have become used to us taking the lead in the first half.
“Mauritania is a strong, well-organized team that closed the spaces effectively, making it a difficult match.”
“There are no weak teams, all players are professionals, and we must respect every opponent. Mauritania is physically strong and organized, and we tried multiple ways to break through their defense.”
Speaking on the squad’s mentality and performance, Rabia stated, “At halftime, we talked about staying calm and waiting patiently for the goal to come. We won’t approach it with the mindset that we only need a point to qualify, we’ll play to win.
“Every match is like a tournament for us, and with one game left to secure qualification, we must win because we represent Egypt.”
Egypt are set to face Mauritania for the return leg on Tuesday, October 15, at 7 PM Cairo time.