Michel was also furious about a penalty-shot awarded to Egypt and branded the decision as “scandalous” after comparing it to a penalty denied for Senegal in their semi-final also against the Pharaohs.

“It's a fraud, You've got to tell things how they are. It was robbery against Senegal and it's robbery here too,” Michel told BBC Sport on Saturday.

"The only thing is that they (Egypt) were unlucky and he missed. It's a scandal," he added.

Nevertheless, the French caretaker praised his players’ performance throughout the tournament and the match and only blamed them for failing to make use of great chances to score.

"I am proud of my team because of everything they've done here. We can have a few regrets, though, because we had some clear chances in the second half and, at that stage, the Egyptians were, physically, dead and I think if we'd scored the match would have been over," Michel said.

Asked about the shoot-out, which gave Egypt their fifth continental victory, Michel said: “One day things go your way, another they don't. But the thing we have to take away from this is the good run we've had at this tournament with this team...and it's just a shame we didn't win it.

"We went close but when you don't take your chances you get punished."