Egypt looked set for a goalless draw in the crucial CAN 2012 qualifier, only for Katlego Mphela to beat Essam Al-Hadari with the last kick of the game in Johannesburg.

“Shehata’s choices were not wrong, I believe. But Egypt missed important players in attack,” Mido, who hardly played for Shehata’s team since the infamous CAN 2006 row, told FilGoal.com.

“There is no Ahmed Hassan or Emad Meteb, and Mohamed Zidan was out of form.

“From the formation the manager started with, it was obvious he was looking for a draw. I think even if the goal came earlier, we wouldn’t have had the chance to reply.

“But it would be wrong to sack this staff. We cannot forget the achievements of Shehata.”

Egypt are now six points behind Group 7 leaders South Africa and could well miss out on Africa’s top tournament for the first time ever.