Hossam Hassan reveals the truth about his dispute with Mohamed Salah

Hossam Hassan, the head coach of the Egypt national team, has revealed the truth about his disagreement with Mohamed Salah, the star of the team, ahead of the match against South Sudan in the Africa Cup of Nations Qualification 2027.

Egypt are set to face South Sudan tomorrow, Tuesday, in the second round of the Africa Cup of Nations Qualification 2027.

Hossam Hassan stated during the press conference: "At first, I am happy to visit a brotherly country, close to Egypt's borders, and regarding the pitch, all the players have experience, and we have played on pitches like this in the Africa Cup of Nations Qualification, and certainly, the players played in the streets when they were young."

He emphasized: "The most important thing for us is that we are ready both technically and mentally, and we always take advantage of the pressures that occur before any match, as they give us strength, and the Egyptian people are the most important."

He explained: "This is not the first time that Mohamed Salah has been absent due to the pitch, and you can review his absence from the matches against Cape Verde and Mauritania, so there is no disagreement, and we do not want conflicts in the national team."

He continued: "Hamza Abdelkarim is a young player with exceptional abilities, and the artificial turf is not an obstacle for his participation; he is ready like the rest of the team, and he has participated before."

He confirmed: "As for the lineup, everyone will see who will play tomorrow. I am satisfied with the performance in the match against Angola; we certainly wanted to win, but the draw was a positive result, especially since the clubs in the league have not played many matches."

Hossam Hassan confirmed that "we rested Mohamed Salah due to the match being played on artificial turf, as happens every time, but with all due respect to the absences, we are well prepared."