President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi honored the Egyptian national team after the performance it presented in the 2026 World Cup.
The President presented the Merit Cup and honorary medals to the national team players and the technical and administrative staff during.
The President said during the reception of the players: "I am not flattering you, but you have gained the respect of everyone who watched them from Egypt and our brothers in the Arab countries and the whole world, you have presented beautiful values that reflect the authenticity of the Egyptians".
He continued, "What has been achieved is a wonderful thing for us, and for this I thank you and salute you and say that you were a source of pride for us and we are proud of all that you have presented".
He added, "In football, sometimes you win and sometimes you don't, but you won, not only with sporting success but you won the respect of the people and this is better than the gain, you represented the youth of Egypt".
He continued, "You cannot imagine the state that happened because of you in Egypt and the whole world during the last two weeks, and this is not flattery but you brought joy and happiness to people's hearts, you presented a performance that contains competitiveness and merit and above all values, at a time when values have become not much in demand in the world".
He stressed, "We saw a team that exerts great effort and this is enough for us to see you loyal to our country, and these matches proved that we are capable of producing a lot, we are a people who love sports and football in particular, and it is unreasonable for us to be 120 million citizens and not have many like Mohamed Salah or Mostafa Shobier or everyone present in front of me now".
He added, "We must have impartial scouts and search for young people who have talent and give them the opportunity and support, and as a state we are ready to support all competencies".
He concluded, "That tournament showed the level of the Egyptians, even as coaches, and I hope that this will not be changed and that we always take into consideration that those responsible for us are Egyptians".
The Egyptian national team reached the round of 16 of the World Cup for the first time in its history.
