Egypt national team player Karim Hafez revealed how he learned of the decision to include him in the 2026 World Cup squad, and explained what Mohamed Salah asked of him against Australia, and the reason for attacking Argentina after the draw.
Karim Hafez
Club: Pyramids
Karim participated as a starter against Australia and Argentina to compensate for Ahmed Fattouh's injury, which he sustained in the group stage.
Egypt's national team journey in the World Cup stopped at the round of 16 with a 3-2 loss to Argentina.
Egypt national team player Karim Hafez said on MBC Egypt 2: "I was shocked even after boarding the plane to travel to America because I did not participate in the 2018 World Cup."
He added, "The reason for my feeling of shock? Héctor Cúper excluded me, Mohamed Awad, and Ahmed Hassan Koka despite our participation in the national team's last camp before traveling to Russia to participate in the 2018 World Cup, which affected me in my career and I could not comprehend the matter for nearly a full year."
He continued, "I had hope of being in the 2026 World Cup, but I ruled it out, and I felt I had a chance after Mohamed Hamdy's injury during the Africa Cup of Nations, and last March I did not join the national team squad, and I worked hard in the hope of joining the national team, and I thank Hossam Hassan for his trust."
He went on, "I had no knowledge whatsoever of the decision to include me in the Egypt national team squad and no one informed me, but I had certainty from God that I would join, and it was my wife who told me the news of joining the World Cup squad."
He continued, "For me, the matter was like a miracle and compensation from God after what happened 8 years ago."
Regarding his participation against Australia, he said: "Mohanad told me before the match against Australia that I would create a goal, and my goal was to deliver the best match of my career."
He continued, "I joined the Egypt national team for the first time in 2015 and since then I have been subjected to attacks, but I was not affected because I know my capabilities."
He explained how he was positioned on the right side during the creation of the opening goal against Australia: "In Imam Ashour's goal against Australia, I was supposed to be in defense for defensive cover with Mohamed Hany."
He added, "Salah asked me to advance to the right side in case he passed to me to shoot, and Hossam Hassan on the other side of the pitch objected to my advance and asked me to return, and indeed I created the goal, and if Salah had not asked me that, I would not have advanced and created the goal."
He continued about the match against Argentina: "Before the match against Argentina, Salah asked us to exploit every opportunity, so we would not regret it after the end of the match. After the final whistle, we felt like we were dreaming because we had delivered a world-class 80 minutes against Argentina."
He revealed the reason for not retreating defensively after Argentina equalized, saying: "After the equalizer, we attacked Argentina in order to achieve victory and end the match without going to extra time. My personal analysis is that we attacked because we did not accept conceding two goals, and I think that was the mistake."
He explained, "Salah strongly objected to the referee after the referee awarded Argentina's third goal. After we took the lead with the first goal, I felt the referee was tense, and he awarded Haitham Hassan's penalty kick quickly without going to video technology within 3 seconds despite my asking him to go back for review."
He went on, "The team for the entire 80 minutes was close-knit, and in front of every Argentine player, 2 or 3 from the Egypt national team were pressing."
He continued, "The Egypt national team camp lasted 53 days, and I think they were the best 53 days in the players' careers."
He concluded, "After we arrived in Egypt, Salah told us that he was sad for the players who did not participate in the World Cup; frankly, their influence was wonderful on the rest of the group, and there is competition with love, not hatred."
Karim Hafez returned to join the Egypt national team for the first time since 2022 under the leadership of the late Ehab Galal.
The 30-year-old left-back came on as a substitute against Belgium and started against Australia and Argentina.
