Hossam Hassan Expresses Pain After Egypt's World Cup Exit in Emotional Call with Wife

Egypt’s national team coach, Hossam Hassan, appeared deeply affected after Egypt’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina, which ended their run in the 2026 World Cup.

Egypt initially took the lead with goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko, but Argentina overturned the score in the final minutes with strikes from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Enzo Fernandez, who scored the winning goal in the second minute of stoppage time, securing Argentina’s place in the quarterfinals.

The Egyptian team was on the verge of achieving a historic milestone by reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in their history, but Messi’s team managed to snatch victory from the Egyptians.

Following the match, Hossam Hassan appeared in a video call with his wife, which was published by Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, repeatedly saying, “We were very close... I do not like losing.”

Hassan’s tenure saw a significant accomplishment as Egypt advanced beyond the group stage of the World Cup for the first time and also progressed past the round of 32 by defeating Australia in a penalty shootout.

In post-match remarks, Hossam Hassan criticized the refereeing decisions, attributing the loss to marketing reasons aimed at prolonging Lionel Messi’s participation in the tournament.