Imam Ashour stressed that the Egyptian national team was close to winning against Argentina in the round of 16 of the World Cup.
Imam Ashour
Club: Al Ahly
Egypt bid farewell to the World Cup with a 3-2 loss to Argentina, after the Pharaohs had led by two unanswered goals until the 79th minute of the match.
Ashour said via On Live: "Hamdi Fathi deserved to get a penalty against Argentina. There were many balls that the referee was supposed to award to us, while we were subjected to strong challenges without any decisions, whereas he awarded fouls to them."
He added, "The last 12 minutes were very difficult. There was also a clear foul in front of the penalty area in favor of Mohamed Salah at the beginning of the match that the referee did not award. And here we told ourselves we had to deal with the matter, but the final minutes were extremely harsh."
He continued, "Between the two halves of the match, we talked to each other about the necessity of capitalizing on our lead in the score, and that we had become close to achieving victory. In the end, it was a shock, but praise be to God for everything."
He stressed, "We thank President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for his supportive words, as they gave us a great moral boost, and I believe they will be an incentive for the coming generations to represent Egypt and serve it in the best possible way."
He revealed, "I was involved in an accident while on my way to training with Ghazl El Mahalla, after the bus was in an accident and caught fire. My mother broke the bus window to get me out, and she was injured in her hand during that, but she insisted on saving me first, before she was taken out and transferred to the hospital."
He answered, "If I receive a suitable offer, I will not speak about anything before Al Ahly's approval. I respect the club and am at its service at any time. Everything I hear is just talk about offers, but as I said, the decision in the end is in Al Ahly's hands."
Imam Ashour's player choices:
If going to a fight: Yasser Ibrahim
Diplomatic gathering: Mohamed Salah
TikTok video: Omar Marmoush
I'll play a prank: Ahmed Fattouh
Wasta for Hossam Hassan: Mohamed Salah
Gift for the wife: Marmoush
Traveling to a far place: Zizo
If entering a project: I'll partner with Salah
If turning professional outside Egypt: I'll choose Mohamed Abdel Monem with me
If acting and choosing a player to act with me: If from outside the national team "Kahraba" and Mohamed Hany inside the national team
I'll buy clothes: Omar Marmoush.
Imam Ashour scored two goals, one against Belgium and the other against Australia.
The Egyptian national team finished second in Group Seven with 5 points, behind the Belgian national team by a margin of points.
In the group stage, the Egyptian national team drew against Belgium and Iran, and won against New Zealand 3-1.
Meanwhile, the Pharaohs achieved victory against Australia in the round of 32 on penalties, before losing to defending champions Argentina in the round of 16
