H. Hassan: 'The result was ultimately determined by external factors'

2026-07-08 11:26 © AFP

The Egyptian national team sadly ended their performance in the World Cup on Tuesday.

The African team led 2:0 against the world champions Argentinians, but at the end of the match conceded three goals and finished their participation.

After the match, the Egyptian team's strategist Hossam Hassan did not hold back criticism towards both the match referee and FIFA.

"We looked better than the world champions. We were better in every aspect, but the result was ultimately determined by external factors. Perhaps there is a desire to keep the world champions in the tournament, or maybe they just want Lionel Messi to continue in it.”

"In football, sometimes everything is decided by external factors that have nothing to do with what happens on the field. The world champions received support in various aspects.”

"We were opposed to this referee (Francois Letexier – ed. note) being assigned to this match. We had to accept such a FIFA decision.”

"There was a lack of fairness on the field. A possible penalty against Mohamed Salah was not even checked, and our second goal was disallowed for incomprehensible reasons.”

"I would like to say that we were just unlucky, but there was simply injustice executed on the field,” Hossam Hassan did not hide his disappointment.