Egypt coach Hossam Hassan Photo courtesy of EFA Facebook page.
“Ashour’s omission is a disciplinary decision. He pretended to be injured with the national team before, and suddenly he played with Ahly. If he apologizes and admits his mistake, he will rejoin the team again,” Hassan explained.
Despite being fully fit, Ashour was surprisingly excluded from the Pharaohs' squad for the two recent qualifiers against Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.
All good!
Meanwhile, despite the limited preparation time, Hossam Hassan expressed satisfaction with his team’s recent results in the African World Cup qualifiers.
On Tuesday, the Pharaohs claimed a narrow 1-0 win over Sierra Leone at Cairo International Stadium. That followed a 2-0 away victory over Ethiopia on Friday in the fifth round of qualifiers, moving them five points clear at the top of Group A.
“Ethiopia and Sierra Leone deliver outstanding football, and both teams include professional players. Winning and leading the group is the most important thing in the qualifiers, and I would like to thank the players for what they delivered,” said the former Ahly and Zamalek star.
“Preparing the team for the two games in just two days isn’t easy, whether for the players or the technical staff,” he added.
Egypt now leads Group A with 16 points from six matches, maintaining a five-point lead over second-placed Burkina Faso.
Sierra Leone remained in third place with 8 points.
Egypt's next match is a return clash against fourth-placed Ethiopia in September's next round of World Cup qualifiers.
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