Ahmed Bilal criticizes Hossam Hassan’s treatment of Egypt players after World Cup achievement

Former Al Ahly and Egypt star Ahmed Bilal criticized Hossam Hassan’s approach to dealing with the national team players, saying the coach should have appreciated their contribution to the achievement during their World Cup participation and supported and embraced them after the tournament. Bilal praised Hossam Hassan, calling him a great coach, but felt that the focus had shifted to who received the credit rather than the interests of the national team.

Bilal’s comments came after the Egyptian Football Association thanked Hossam Hassan and his brother Ibrahim, and appointed Ali Maher as coach of the national team for the next phase. Maher announced Egypt’s squad for a training camp ahead of their matches against Malawi in the third and fourth rounds of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The first leg against Malawi is scheduled to take place on November 13 at Cairo International Stadium, with the return leg on November 17 at Bingu Stadium. The source stated that the national team squad includes Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush in attack, along with other players in goal, defence and midfield.