Hossam Hassan challenges South Africa: We fear no one in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
Hossam Hassan, the coach of the Egyptian national team, announced a clear challenge before the anticipated match against the South African national team, stressing that the "Pharaohs" do not fear any competitor in the 2025 African Cup of Nations currently being held in Morocco.
The Egyptian national team is preparing to play a tough and crucial match tomorrow, Friday, against its South African counterpart, as part of the second round of the group stage, after it began its journey in the tournament with a hard-fought and important 2-1 victory over the Zimbabwean national team, earning its first three points in the quest for the eighth star.
Spirit 98 and the "Boys" challenge
At the pre-match press conference, Hossam Hassan recalled glorious history, referring to the historic encounter between the two teams in the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations final in Burkina Faso. Hassan said, "The Egyptian national team is ready to face any team in the tournament. We fear no one, and we possess the character to win.".
“We triumphed over South Africa in the 1998 final, and God willing, we will repeat this feat while we are in the technical leadership position, to prove that Egypt is always the leader of the continent,” added “the Dean,” who was the captain of the national team and the top scorer of the tournament in the 1998 edition, which Egypt won by defeating South Africa 2-0.
An artistic reading and background of the conflict
The Egyptian national team coach addressed the technical aspects of the opponent, explaining that Bafana Bafana's playing style relies heavily on the core players of Mamelodi Sundowns, a style familiar to Egyptian clubs. He said, "South Africa's style of play is similar to that of their clubs. We have faced their clubs, Al Ahly, Zamalek, and Pyramids, on several occasions, and we know them well and how to neutralize their threat.".
This match is of particular importance, as the Egyptian national team seeks to redeem itself in football after being eliminated from the round of 16 in the 2019 edition held in Cairo by South Africa, which gives the match a highly competitive and vengeful character that goes beyond it being just a group stage match.
The situation of the injured and the readiness to receive
Regarding the challenges facing the team, Hossam Hassan affirmed that the tournament includes very strong teams, which is to be expected given the development of African football, but he emphasized his players' mental and physical readiness. As for injuries, the coach indicated that the medical staff would determine the status of Mostafa Mohamed and Mohamed Hamdy during today's final training session to ascertain their availability for the match.
Through this edition in Morocco, Egypt seeks to enhance its record number of times winning the championship (7 titles), and to regain the African throne that has been absent from the Pharaohs' coffers since 2010.
