Hossam Hassan, the technical director of the Egyptian national team, revealed the behind-the-scenes details of Haitham Hassan's joining the Pharaohs' ranks, confirming that the player was hesitant between representing Egypt and France before deciding to wear the national team's jersey.
Hossam Hassan said, in statements via the "ON" channel: "Haitham Hassan does not speak Arabic, and we were keen to follow him, as we contacted the Football Association to include him in the national team, but he was in the stage of choosing between representing Egypt or France, especially since he had previously played for French youth teams, and we have been following him in the Spanish league for two years."
He added: "Haitham Hassan was hesitant, and the Football Association contacted him and his father through Hani Abu Rida. The player wanted to have a role with the national team and to be in the starting lineup, then we held a session with him via the (Zoom) app, and I told him that the Egyptian national team is a big team, and if you join it, it will add a lot to you, but you must strive to secure a starting spot, especially since the team includes big players."
He continued: "The Football Association completed the procedures for the player's joining the Egyptian national team before traveling to America and the friendly match against Brazil, but a major crisis occurred with his papers. If he had participated at that time, a disaster would have happened, because some procedures with FIFA had not been completed yet. If he had played against New Zealand or Iran, the two matches would have been considered a 2-0 loss for Egypt, and Australia filed a complaint after his participation, but we had already completed his papers with FIFA, so his participation was legal."
The technical director of the Egyptian national team clarified: "I preferred Haitham Hassan to remain on the bench during the group stage so that no problem would occur, then he participated in the knockout stage matches. He is a very kind and well-mannered player, and all the national team players love him and try to help him speak Arabic. He possesses very high skills and bore a great burden on the attacking side, but the defensive side needed development, and indeed we worked with him on improving this aspect."
Hossam Hassan concluded his statements by saying: "We employed Mohamed Salah in a new position inside the pitch in order to benefit from Haitham Hassan in the winger position, and Salah is a leader on the pitch."
