[EGYPT] Bob Bradley's Egyptian national team only managed a 1-1 tie with the Central African Republic and exited African Cup of Nations in the preliminary round of qualifying for the 2013 finals with a 4-3 loss on aggregate. The defeat is considered one of the biggest upsets in the history of the African Cup of Nations and means the Pharaohs will miss the finals for the second time in a row after winning the previous three tournaments.

"The EFA's executive committee has asked Bradley to provide a technical report in order to provide reasons for the defeat by Central Africa and pinpoint the obstacles that he faced," association spokesman Azmi Megahed said in a statement. "I hope people will pardon Bradley, given that he worked under difficult circumstances after football activities were suspended in the wake of the  Port Said disaster, which led to a dip in form for the players due to the lack of competitive action. However, this doesn't mean the technical staff and players should not shoulder some responsibility for what happened. We all must stand shoulder to shoulder to realize the dream of reaching the 2014 World Cup."

Bradley has blamed the 3-2 loss to the Central African Republic at home on the short turnaround time the Pharaohs had after winning 3-2 at Guinea in 2012 World Cup qualifying.

Egypt's strong start to its World Cup qualifying campaign should mean Bradley won't suffer the same fate as his predecessor, Hassan Shehata, who was fired after it failed to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.