Hossam Hassan, the technical director of the Egyptian national team, hopes that the number of foreign players in the Egyptian league will decrease, and spoke about his relationship with Mohamed Salah and why he included Mustafa Zico.
Hossam Hassan, the technical director of the Egyptian national team, said via On channel: "All the players love Imam Ashour, and he is a great and very kind boy".
He added, "He is a joker player and I am certain that he is capable of playing as a holding midfielder or a playmaker, and I like the player who can play in more than one position".
He continued, "He is distinguished in penetration and offensive addition, and I try to benefit from Imam as an offensive or defensive midfielder".
He touched on Haitham Hassan, saying: "There were some FIFA papers that had to be completed for Haitham Hassan to participate with the Egyptian national team in the World Cup".
He revealed, "If he had participated against Belgium and New Zealand, the Egyptian national team would have been considered defeated by a score of 2-0".
He continued, "Belgium, New Zealand, and Australia filed a complaint against us because of Haitham Hassan's presence and asked FIFA to award the win to them".
He explained, "When he participated, he was distinguished on the physical level and he is a very calm person, and he carried a large part of the offensive load alongside Salah and the rest of his teammates and was also supporting defensively. I benefited from Haitham given the reliance on Mohamed Salah as a striker and thus we benefited from all the players".
Hossam Hassan revealed how he included Zico in the Egyptian national team, saying: "I followed Zico during his participation with Border Guards while I was coaching Al-Masry and I wanted to include him but I left the team, and after he moved to Pyramids I said to myself why not include him in the national team, and from my point of view I chose those who deserve it".
He added, "I found that Zico is the closest to compensating for the absence of Islam Issa, and because he suits my style and what I want and can play in more than one position whether as a playmaker or striker or winger".
He continued, "I have previously included Mahmoud Saber, Islam Issa, and Osama Faisal; Islam Issa and Mohamed Hamdy would have made a difference with the Egyptian national team in the World Cup were it not for the injury".
He spoke about his relationship with Mohamed Salah: "Hossam Hassan's nervousness has been marketed in the media; what do you think if I sit on the bench and write some notes? Football has a lot of reactions; the Egyptian player must feel that his coach is living with him in the match moment by moment".
He explained, "Before Salah's professional move to Europe, and while I was coaching Zamalek, I requested his inclusion among a group of names, and he knows that I tried to include him when he was a player at Al-Mokaweloun Al-Arab".
He added, "Since taking charge, we have been under pressure the whole time and some promoted the existence of problems with Salah before dealing with him or meeting him. No problem occurred between me and Salah, and a relationship of respect prevails among everyone including Salah, and he would not have presented this performance with the Egyptian national team if there had been a problem".
He continued, "Salah is a smart player who dealt with all matters and I see him as an important player and the team captain and the relationship is dominated by respect between the player and the coach and the national team is the beneficiary. Salah influences his teammates and they love him and he is light-hearted behind the scenes, and on the pitch his eye is on me to hear the instructions to help his teammates and convey what I ask of them".
He continued, "Salah came to the Egyptian national team after a not-easy period at the end of his career with Liverpool, and if there had not been love or respect we would not have achieved anything for the Egyptian national team, and he is a professional player in his performance, and it is not by chance that he is a star or achieves those record numbers in Europe; he is a role model".
He pointed to how he dealt with Mohamed Hany after he scored two own goals, saying: "I did not talk to Mohamed Hany about the own goals but I praised him because he presented a good performance and error is possible, and I did not blame him, and I talk to him individually and will not break him in front of his teammates, and I am very convinced of him; Ibrahim Hassan always talks to Mohamed Hany about how to deal with the opponent and movement".
He revealed how he bet on Mustafa Shobier, saying: "Mustafa Shobier has personality and seeks development, and when I took charge of coaching the Egyptian national team he was the second goalkeeper at Al-Ahly but I insisted on including him not as a favor but because I look to the future, and I was criticized a lot because of him".
He continued, "I saw that Mustafa has good abilities, and I felt he had personality when he participated in the Egyptian Super Cup with Al-Ahly against Zamalek. During the Africa Cup of Nations I felt that Shobier had 'matured' and that he deserved to get an opportunity. Some were surprised when Mustafa Shobier was fielded instead of El-Shenawy and he saved 3 penalty kicks during the friendly tournament".
He continued, "Hamza Abdel Karim did not join by chance; I watched him at the Youth World Cup and saw that he presented a good performance and he is way ahead of his age physically and bodily and I was ready to field him as a starter in the World Cup".
He explained, "I have a problem that the big teams in the Egyptian league rely on foreign strikers, and all teams include 5 foreign players in addition to the Palestinian players who are treated as Egyptians".
He continued, "This is Zamalek's problem for example; the team includes a large number of foreign starters and there are no Egyptian starters like Hossam Abdel Majeed and Ahmed Fattouh, and Al-Ahly is the same".
He added, "I want to reduce the number of foreigners to 3 players instead of 5, and there are big clubs that will oppose my opinion; I aim for Egyptian players to get a greater opportunity".
He concluded, "After taking charge of coaching the Egyptian national team I underwent heart catheterization surgery and had 3 stents implanted".
Hossam Hassan took charge of coaching the Egyptian national team in February 2024 and began his journey with the Egyptian national team in March with a match against New Zealand.
Since then, the Brigadier has led the Egyptian national team in 35 matches, winning 19, drawing 10, and losing 5.
The Egyptian national team finished second in Group Seven with 5 points, behind the Belgian national team by points difference.
In the group stage, the Egyptian national team drew with Belgium and Iran, and won against New Zealand 3-1.
The Pharaohs achieved victory against Australia in the round of 32 on penalties, before losing to defending champions Argentina in the round of 16.
