José Peseiro: I don't care about appointing a foreign referee for the Egypt Cup semifinal game

Portuguese coach José Peseiro, the head coach of Zamalek, held a press conference on Saturday to discuss the upcoming match against Petrojet in the third round of the group stage of the Egypt Capital Cup.

Peseiro stated: "Zamalek is still fighting for the Capital Cup. The team plays to win every match and every tournament. We drew in the first match against El Gouna, and our goal is to win against Petrojet tomorrow."

The head coach added: "All options are open for tomorrow’s game regarding lineup changes, but there must be balance in the team. Zamalek plays to win, and squad rotation must be done carefully. All players have the capabilities but if I field eleven players without competition or chemistry, regardless of their quality, they won’t perform well."

"Therefore, I cannot make too many changes to the starting lineup at once. Players need to develop, and making too many changes would not be good for the team or for them. I rely on a balanced lineup that includes regular starters along with some players who haven’t been featuring regularly."

Regarding fullback Ahmed Fatouh’s availability for the match, Peseiro commented: "I hope Ahmed Fatouh can play. He has participated in two training sessions with the team and we will evaluate his situation with the medical staff. His performance in training will determine his participation. We must handle his case carefully to prevent a recurrence of his injury."

Peseiro also reflected on the team's performance in the previous match against El Gouna: "I was pleased with the team's organization, but I wanted more aggression on the pitch. We needed to play at a higher pace because our opponents tend to defend deep, just like El Gouna, who defended with seven players."

The coach continued: "We controlled the game in the last match, but the opponent scored from a counterattack following a mistake from us. After that, we pushed for an equalizer and tried to win. The game became more open after their goal, and we created many chances to win. One positive aspect was our ability to come from behind and get a result. This is not the first time we have trailed in a match and managed to come back without losing."

"When we score first, we win. The team has a winning mentality, and the players never give up. We must fight until the last minute. We were not happy with the draw against El Gouna but there were positives that pleased me. I hope we don't suffer tomorrow and that we can score and avoid conceding goals."

Finally, Peseiro commented on the potential appointment of a foreign referee for the Egypt Cup semifinal match against Ceramica Cleopatra: "I don’t care about appointing a foreign referee. All referees can make mistakes but the important thing is that mistakes don’t keep repeating. We have had penalties not awarded to us by both foreign referees, like in the match against Al Ahly, and by Egyptian referees, like in the Petrojet and ZED matches."

"Referees can make mistakes; no one is perfect. But they must improve and learn from their errors."