Egypt national team star Haitham Hassan revealed the behind-the-scenes details of his paperwork crisis that caused a delay in his participation with the Pharaohs in the World Cup.
Haitham Hassan
Club: Real Oviedo
Haitham said on MBC Egypt channel: "I was going to play against New Zealand, but FIFA conducted an investigation to verify the authenticity of my papers, and this issue was resolved quickly in less than 24 hours and there is no longer a crisis for participating with the Egyptian national team".
He added, "I felt sad for not participating at the beginning with Egypt because I wanted to play in the World Cup and that was one of my priorities and I wanted to leave my mark, but the technical and administrative staff did a great job to solve the crisis and enable my participation".
He continued, "I am very happy to integrate with the group of players in the Egyptian national team and participate in the World Cup".
He went on, "My feeling was wonderful warming up to participate for the first time with the Egyptian national team in the World Cup, and I remembered everything I went through in my childhood until this moment came".
He affirmed, "Thank God that I participated with the Egyptian national team and became one of the active elements in the team during the World Cup".
He explained, "Wassim Ahmed has been in contact with me for a very long time and witnessed my brilliance in Europe, until I reached representing the Egyptian national team, and he consulted with the technical staff and the Football Association and facilitated matters for me to be able to join the national team".
He pointed out, "Hani Abu Rida was very interested in my joining the Egyptian national team file, as well as Mohamed Abdel Wahed who helped me with many matters, and Hossam Hassan explained to me the national team's situation and its project with Egypt and my representation of Egypt".
He stressed, "I go to Egypt every summer to spend the vacation with my family and I am one of the biggest fans of the Egyptian national team".
He added, "I want to win all matches with the Egyptian national team, it is known that the Egyptian national team is the king of Africa and the strongest on the continent level".
He continued, "Currently there is a distinguished and very important generation in the history of Egyptian football, as well as the technical staff led by Hossam Hassan who gathered this group and we have become of one heart".
Real Oviedo Spanish player continued, "In the last Africa Cup of Nations, the Egyptian national team showed its wonderful technical abilities, and we have a wonderful group of young players capable of achieving a lot for Egypt and appearing distinctively in the future".
He concluded his statements, "Dreams have no price, and the Egyptian national team is capable of winning all its upcoming matches".
