Egypt cannot rely on one player, says Hassan after South Sudan win

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan says his side must not be defined by the absence of any individual player after their 5-0 victory over South Sudan in the second round of the Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers.

“I am not making excuses,” Hassan said at his news conference. “Egypt may be affected by absences, but the national team does not depend on any one player.”

He acknowledged the importance of every member of the squad but said the size of Egypt’s population meant the team should be able to cope without individual players.

“All the players are very important to us, but it is not right for a country with a population of 120 million to have its national team depend on one player,” he added.

Hassan said absences were disappointing, but the team’s responsibility was to find solutions from within the available squad.

“We are affected and saddened by the absences, but our duty is to find solutions through the other committed players who complete the national team,” he said.

Egypt were without Mohamed Salah of Turkish club Trabzon and Mohamed Abdelmonem of French club Nice for the match. The game was played on an artificial surface.

Omar Marmoush scored twice for Egypt, while Zico, Ibrahim Adel and Hamza Abdelkarim also found the net in a convincing win over South Sudan.

The result moved Egypt to four points in their group. They had begun their campaign with a goalless draw against Angola in the opening round.