Egypt camp rocked by Hossam Hassan-El Shenawy dispute

Egypt camp has been rocked by a dispute involving head coach Hossam Hassan and experienced goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, with the disagreement adding to the tension surrounding the Pharaohs ahead of their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.

The controversy, which resurfaced during the September international window, has its roots in events surrounding Egypt’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign and has now spilled into the current national team setup.

El Shenawy was included in Egypt’s World Cup squad with the expectation of playing a role in the tournament, and an understanding was reportedly reached that he would start the third group-stage match against Iran if the Pharaohs secured qualification for the knockout stage.

However, tensions emerged before that game when Hassan included Mostafa Shobeir among his options to start in goal during the technical meeting.

El Shenawy was reportedly unhappy with the development and communicated his concerns to the team’s administrators and manager Ibrahim Hassan.

A meeting involving Hossam Hassan, El Shenawy and Shobeir was subsequently held, with the issue of the goalkeeper’s starting position discussed.

Despite the discussions, Shobeir remained in goal for Egypt’s subsequent World Cup matches against Australia and Argentina as the Pharaohs eventually ended their campaign.

The disagreement resurfaced ahead of the September camp when Al Ahly announced that El Shenawy had suffered an injury.

Hassan subsequently made comments about the goalkeeper’s situation, appearing to question the circumstances surrounding his absence while also referring to El Shenawy’s previous struggles with form.

“Mohamed El Shenawy was ‘finished’ at one point and never played with his club, yet he returned to his level through his training with us. He returned to his level through the Egyptian national team. Not only him, but other players as well,” Hassan said.

The coach also insisted that El Shenawy’s exclusion from the squad was based on his technical decision, regardless of whether the goalkeeper was injured.

“The decision to exclude Mohamed El Shenawy was a result of our choices, regardless of his injury. I could have ‘put myself at ease’ and said that he was injured, but these are our choices even if he was not injured,” he added.

Hassan’s comments prompted a strong reaction from Al Ahly after Egypt’s opening 2027 AFCON qualifying match against Angola ended goalless.

The Cairo giants defended their goalkeeper and described the national coach’s comments as “irresponsible”, while calling on the Egyptian Football Association to take a position on what the club considered unacceptable remarks.

The situation threatened to become a wider issue between the national team and one of the country’s biggest clubs, but Hassan has since attempted to ease the tension.

The Egypt coach insisted that his comments had been misunderstood and that he had no intention of belittling El Shenawy.

“My comments about Mohamed El Shenawy’s statements were misunderstood. I respect everyone, and I said that El Shenawy was injured in the shoulder at the time, and I did not mean to belittle anyone,” Hassan explained.

“I meant that he had an injury in his shoulder, and this was in the past. It was a past tense verb, and you know better about grammar.”

The clarification is aimed at bringing the dispute to an end as Egypt continue their qualification campaign.

With important matches ahead, Hassan will now be hoping the controversy surrounding El Shenawy does not distract his squad from their objectives.

The Pharaohs are expected to turn their attention back to matters on the pitch as they seek to build momentum in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers, while the relationship between Hassan, El Shenawy and the wider national team setup remains under scrutiny.