Hossam Hassan

Egypt national team head coach Hossam Hassan has denied claims of a rift between him and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

Hassan took charge of the Pharaohs following their disappointing campaign in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year.

Since then, the 57-year-old led Egypt in two games during the March international break but had to do without the services of Salah, who was recovering from an injury.

With the season coming to an end, Salah could finally play his first game under Hassan next month as Egypt are set to play back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau respectively.

Speaking on their upcoming games, Hassan discussed their goals and revealed that he is on good terms with Salah.

“The media have the right to know what we are doing to achieve our goals and we want to clarify everything before the start of the next international break,” Hassan said.

“The national team camp starts on May 28th, and we aim to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. We will only include players with the passion, enthusiasm and spirit to play in the Egyptian national team.

“Mohamed Salah is one of the best players in the world ever, which is an indisputable fact. There is no rift between me and him. We communicate with him normally,” he added.