Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has questioned the fairness of the FIFA World Cup after accusing organisers of favouring Argentina following his team’s elimination from the tournament.
The Egyptian coach made the comments after the Pharaohs suffered a 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the Round of 16, a result that ended Egypt’s historic World Cup campaign.
Hassan, known for his strong opinions and passionate personality, claimed the match was unfairly influenced and said he was not afraid to speak despite possible consequences.
“I will say what’s on my mind regardless of consequence. This was clearly a rigged match and the whole world saw it,” Hassan said.
He also questioned why teams were invited to compete if there was already a preference for Argentina to win the tournament.
“If they want Argentina to win so badly, why call everyone to come and participate?” he added.
The defeat ended Egypt’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time.
The Pharaohs had impressed during the tournament by advancing to the knockout stage and showing strong determination against some of the world’s best teams.
Argentina on the other hand, led by captain and football legend Lionel Messi, continued their title defence with the victory.
The reigning champions had entered the tournament as one of the favourites and secured another important result on their journey to retain the trophy.
Before the match, the Egyptian coach had praised Argentina’s quality but insisted that his team would not be intimidated by Messi’s presence or the reputation of the South American giants.
Despite the controversial remarks, Hassan said his players deserved credit for their efforts and for representing Egypt with pride on the biggest stage.
