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The coach of Egypt defends himself. Consider me a foreigner
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan has broken his silence to defend himself after he left Nantes forward Mostafa Mohamed out of the Pharaohs’ squad for the 2026 World Cup.
Hassani was surprised by the exclusion of Mustafa Mohamed from the initial list of 27 names (today it has been reduced to 26), although the Nantes striker has been present at all the national team camps since the dean took over.
Yesterday, Thursday evening, the Egyptian national team won a moral friendly victory over Russia with a score of 1-0 in the Cairo Stadium, preparing for the World Cup. In the next few hours, the team will travel to the United States of America to take on Brazil in the second friendly match.
At the press conference held after the Russia match, Hasan was asked about the reason for removing Mustafa Mohamed from the list, he answered.
He added: “In Egypt, we are used to when a foreign coach excludes a player, we say that it is the coach’s thought and vision, so consider me a foreigner.”
In another context, Hasan said: “There is a foreign coach (referring to Carlos Queiroz) who relied on Mohamed Abdel Moneim in the Egyptian national team, and in the end he became the only player we benefited from.”
He added: “I’ve included players whose names people didn’t know and then they joined big clubs. There are players who have come back from crises and injuries and participated with me and regained their level, for example Ahmed Fattuh.”
He continued. “Islam Issa joined the Egyptian club from Al-Nasr and he was one of the best players in the national team when he joined and I missed him along with Mohamed Hamdi.”
The Egyptian national team is participating in the World Cup in a group that includes Belgium, Iran and New Zealand.
