Hossam Hassan, the head coach of the Egyptian national team, revealed details of the confusion surrounding the current team camp following the cancellation of the Qatar friendly festival, which was supposed to host the matches against Saudi Arabia and Spain.

Hossam Hassan said during the press conference in Jeddah: "Canceling the Qatar camp was a significant loss for our team. Initially, I agreed to play the two matches there, and after the cancellation, I accepted to play in Saudi Arabia, but we were surprised by Spain's withdrawal at first."

The head coach explained that the reason for temporarily refusing to face Spain was related to the long travel duration from Saudi Arabia to Spain, which takes up to 7 hours, in addition to the short time between the matches and his concern about player fatigue. He added that the team also suffered from a flight delay due to weather conditions, which affected the players' readiness, before player Omar Marmoush resumed training with the team yesterday.

Regarding the upcoming friendly match against Saudi Arabia, Hossam Hassan emphasized that it is a strong and important experience before the World Cup, noting the strength of both Arab teams on the continental and global levels, and that the goal is to gain the maximum technical benefit from the match.

He added that the absence of national team star Mohamed Salah and Saudi team captain Salem Al-Dawsari will be impactful, noting the importance of all players being ready before the World Cup. He also emphasized the need to benefit from the expected crowd pressure during the match.

The head coach indicated that the friendly match is part of the preparations for the World Cup, which will later include facing the Spanish national team again. He emphasized that the focus is on preparing the team to achieve the best results in the global tournament.