Hossam Hassan: No excuses due to injuries... and there are no issues with El Shenawy.
Hossam Hassan, the coach of the Egypt national team, confirmed the team's readiness for the upcoming match against Angola tomorrow in the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, stressing that the coaching staff is not looking for excuses related to absences or injuries that have affected the team recently.
The Egypt national football team, under the guidance of coach Hossam Hassan, will face Angola tomorrow evening, Friday, in the first round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
During the press conference preceding the match, the coach explained that player selection is based on careful monitoring by the coaching staff, noting that focusing on supporting professionals and relying on them aims to boost their self-confidence and prepare them to build a solid foundation for the future.
The national team coach commented on the recent decisions regarding the exclusion of goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy, saying: "These are the choices of the coaching staff entirely. We contributed to bringing El-Shenawy back to his level at previous times with the national team, as we did with other players, and I have never seen in football that excluding a player can turn into a crisis with the coaching staff; the coach remains a coach and the player remains a player."
Hossam Hassan spoke about the limited preparation and gathering time, confirming: "This is our first camp in 80 days, and I am gathering the players only a night and a half before the match, which forces me to work intensively in a short period of time. For this reason, I always request to start camps early to reach the required readiness."
Hossam Hassan concluded his statements by referring to the overall strategy of the coaching staff, confirming that he has been working since day one of taking responsibility to renew the elements within the national team and reduce the average age of the players to build a strong team capable of competing in the future.