Arjun Menon
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has singled out the opening football fixture against Belgium as the toughest assignment in what he describes as a “highly competitive” Group G at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
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Egypt went into the tournament having lost 2-1 to five-times champion Brazil in Cleveland on Sunday, their final warm-up friendly ahead of a fourth World Cup appearance. Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimarães opened the scoring early from inside the box, with Lyon forward Endrick adding a second-half goal after an assist from Barcelona‘s Raphinha. Zico pulled one back for Egypt.
Captain Mohamed Salah came on for the second half and showed encouraging signs ahead of the tournament.
“Salah underwent a rehabilitation program with Liverpool and then with the national team, and he is now ready for matches,” Hassan told reporters.
The seven-times African champions open their Group G campaign against Belgium on June 15th, before taking on New Zealand and Iran.
“The opening match against Belgium at the World Cup will be extremely difficult, and the group is strong and highly competitive,” said Hassan, who represented Egypt at the 1990 World Cup as a player.
Hassan acknowledged his frustration at the defeat to Brazil while maintaining confidence in his squad’s display.
“I do not like losing, and I am saddened by the defeat to Brazil, even though they are one of the biggest teams in the world. We faced a strong and outstanding team in the final match before the World Cup.”
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