Egypt places fate in the hands of a legend who recently criticized Salah

Egypt, without the injured Mohamed Salah, failed to secure a single victory during the tournament in Ivory Coast, despite entering as the runner-up of Africa. Their journey ended in the round of 16 after a penalty shootout against DR Congo, prompting the Egyptian Football Association to decide it was best to search for a new head coach.

Where Egypt has been mainly led by foreign coaches in recent years such as Carlos Queiroz, Javier Aguirre, and Héctor Cúper, the choice has now fallen on a big name from their own country. Hossam Hassan, with 184 international caps and 68 goals, is a true legend who served his country for over twenty years (1985-2006). At the 1990 FIFA World Cup, he even faced the Netherlands with Egypt (1-1).

Hassan has been working as a coach in Egypt for several years now, but to his own frustration, he has always been overlooked for the position of national team coach. The legendary former striker has a reputation for being somewhat temperamental. Recently, as an analyst, he criticized Salah's decision to recover from his injury at Liverpool.

Salah

In English media, those remarks are immediately brought up again, now that it's clear Salah will be dealing with Hassan as the national team coach. 'If I were the head coach, I would have told him to stay here,' said the 57-year-old legend. 'Salah is of great value to the team and should provide moral support to the national team. His departure negatively affects Egypt and positively impacts the opponents.'

However, it seems that things will be smoothed over between the star player and the new head coach. 'This is not an attack on Salah. He is a legend for Egypt, but his decision to undergo treatment in Liverpool is not correct,' Hassan emphasized. As the World Cup 2026 approaches, the former striker, whose brother Ibrahim (also a former international) will become assistant coach, will undoubtedly patch things up with Salah.