Ahmed Hassan explains Egypt Arab Cup selection controversies

Egypt team manager Ahmed Hassan has revealed why several big-name players were absent from the Pharaohs’ squad at the 2025 Arab Cup, and detailed the tense background to coach Helmi Toulan’s attempted resignation.

Speaking on television, he clarified that Emam Ashour, Nasser Maher, Mohamed Ismail and Salah Mohsen were not dropped for technical reasons but were called up by first-team coach Hossam Hassan, stressing that “absolute priority” always goes to the senior national side.

“Ahmed Hegazi refused to join, while Abdullah Al-Saeed stipulated that he would join the delegation immediately before the start of the tournament, while injuries deprived the Pharaohs of the efforts of Hussein Al-Shahat, Ahmed Abdel-Qader and Mustafa Al-Ash,” he said.

“The club’s agreement to join Marwan Hamdi came as an exchange step, after the Moroccan Federation contacted us to sign Walid El Karti, so Pyramids agreed to Hamdi joining Egypt in exchange for El Karti leaving Morocco.”

“The participation of four Egyptian clubs in the African championships narrowed the options for the national team’s coaching staff under the leadership of Helmy Toulan, and limited the selection to a small list of players.”

Hassan revealed that after the second training camp, Toulan was close to resigning due to what he felt was a lack of cooperation and the absence of a core group, but talks with Hany Abou Rida and the FA’s technical committee convinced him to carry on despite the risks.

Hassan ended by saying he would have preferred one of Hossam Hassan’s assistants to lead the Arab Cup team to guarantee full technical alignment with the senior side.