Egypt U-20 manager Osama Nabih defended his performance in the FIFA World Cup, rejecting claims of failure despite the team’s poor display.

Osama Nabih’s controversial comments came during a televised appearance days after Egypt were knocked out of the competition in Chile following a dramatic final round of group-stage results that dashed their hopes of qualifying among the best third-placed teams.

Egypt finished third in Group A with three points, level with hosts Chile in every metric except bookings. The Pharaohs’ hopes of sneaking into the Round of 16 were officially ended after a combination of results across other groups, including wins for Australia, France, and South Africa.

“We exited because of two yellow cards,” Nabih said. “We had the same points, goal difference, and goals scored as Chile. It was the fair play rule that eliminated us. That’s not failure. That’s misfortune and unfair regulations.”

Despite the disappointment, Nabih insisted that the squad gained valuable experience and highlighted the 2–1 win over Chile in front of 60,000 home fans as a key achievement.

He was also quick to defend his player selections, stating that every call-up met the same criteria.

“All the players we selected were regular starters for their clubs in the Egyptian Premier League,” he said. “If you’re wondering why some names weren’t included, it’s because young players don’t get enough minutes in Egypt. It’s not a flaw in my choices. Rather, it’s a reflection of how things are at club level.”

The coach also defended his decision to leave Arsenal youngster Cam’ron Ismail out of the squad for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, pointing to both tactical disagreements and what he described as “unacceptable behavior” during a previous call-up.

“I’ve only worked with Cam’ron in one camp. That’s not enough for me to call him up for the World Cup,” Nabih said.

The manager went on to reveal a behind-the-scenes dispute over Ismail’s preferred position.

“I wanted to use him as a full-back. He insisted on playing center-back instead. That created tension in the dressing room,” Nabih explained.

“So I asked him to take a good look at our starting center-backs, Mohamed Abdullah and Hamed Abdullah, both from Al Ahly, and tell me honestly if he could replace either of them. Cam’ron admitted that he couldn’t.”

According to Nabih, Ismail then suggested he should be played in midfield rather than at full-back, which the coach saw as a red flag.

“That’s not how things work. You don’t just change positions mid-camp because you’re not happy with the role. That kind of mindset isn’t acceptable at international level.”

Nabih also directed pointed criticism at the Egyptian Football Association, accusing them of treating youth tournaments as an afterthought.

“I took over in February, and the target they gave me was to ‘try to qualify.’ That’s it. We were thrown into a qualifying group with Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa with no serious preparation. We didn’t even get proper support.”

He also addressed the debate surrounding his tactical rotations and squad depth, defending his decisions in light of the limited 18-man roster.

“Some of these players trained under top managers and could fill multiple roles. I needed that. If we had qualified, we’d have faced stronger opponents like Mexico. I rotated deliberately. That’s coaching.”

Nabih shed light on the now-infamous free-kick incident against Chile, where confusion arose between Omar Khedr and Mohamed Abdallah over who would take the set piece.

“Omar Khedr was the designated taker after the substitutions. But Abdallah didn’t hear the instructions and took the kick. We handled it internally afterward.”

He added that Khedr’s performance had dipped due to a failed move to the Saudi league, which left him inactive and short on match fitness heading into the tournament.

In his final statement, Nabih was unflinching.

“I’ll apologise for the lack of luck. But failure? That’s not in my vocabulary. I won’t apologise for something that didn’t happen.”