Bradley: Qualifying 'Nearly Impossible' for Egypt

Bob Bradley reflected on the probable end to his team’s fairytale run to the 2014 World Cup after Egypt was thrashed 6-1 in Kumasi in the first-leg of the African zoneplayoff by Ghana. “The dream of going to the World Cup is what kept our team united for these two years. But we’ve seen that dream become nearly impossible,” he said. “I say nearly impossible becausethe situation we’ve put ourselves in is a very difficult one. We know this and we feel this.”

Bradley was speaking in reference to both Tuesday’s record-breaking first-leg loss and tothe political turmoil that the North African country has endured since early 2011. Even though Bradley’s contract is tied to the World Cup cycle, Egyptian media speculated on Wednesday about apossibly replacing the American ahead of the return leg in Cairo on November 19th.

Meanwhile, Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah told his team to forget the first-leg result when thetwo teams clash again next month. “We must prepare well for the return match and forget we have a five-goal advantage,” Appiah said. “My team dare not underestimate Egypt and their strengths afterthis result.”