Hossam Hassan is facing increasing crises with the Egyptian national team after his statements about El-Shenawy and Salah’s departure from the camp

Hossam Hassan led the Egyptian national team to the round of 16 in the 2026 World Cup, a historic achievement for the Pharaohs, before losing to Argentina 3-2. The team also achieved its first victory in the history of its participation in the World Cup.

During its World Cup campaign, the Egyptian team succeeded in regaining the fans’ interest in the team after the fans rallied around the Pharaohs and supported the technical staff led by Hossam Hassan, who received remarkable public support during the tournament’s competitions.

But the picture changed during the recent period after Hossam Hassan angered a section of the Egyptian fans because of his statements regarding Mohamed El-Shenawy, Al-Ahly’s captain and goalkeeper, referring in his statements to the level of the goalkeeper in the previous period.

The technical director's statements sparked widespread reactions before the Football Association issued a statement in support of El-Shenawy. Al-Ahly Club also announced its rejection of what was said by the national team's coach, refusing to undermine the artistic value of any player wearing the club's shirt and stressing that the matter becomes more sensitive when it comes to the captain of the team and the Egyptian national team, Mohamed El-Shenawy.

Hossam Hassan's crises within the Egyptian national team intensified more and more after it was announced that Mohamed Salah, the team's captain, would leave the current Pharaohs' camp following the Angola match, which ended in a goalless draw, during which he was replaced after only 60 minutes, which sparked a great deal of controversy.

The Egyptian Football Association justified Salah's departure as something that had been previously agreed upon, due to his unwillingness to play on Tartan in the South Sudan match for fear of injury.

Hossam Hassan had previously entered into a dispute with Imam Ashour, Al-Ahly midfielder, after the technical director accused the player of malingering and claiming injury in order to leave the national team camp.

Mustafa Mohamed was also one of the names that was also associated with a controversy with Hossam Hassan after the technical director spoke about the list of professionals in the national team, using the expression “2 professionals and a quarter” in a reference that was understood to be related to the striker.

These files and other files put Hossam Hassan in front of a new stage with the Egyptian national team, in light of the technical staff’s continued connection to continental and international entitlements during the coming period.

It is noteworthy that the Egyptian national team began its qualifying campaign for the 2027 African Cup of Nations with a goalless draw with Angola at home.