Egypt Coach Hossam Hassan: 'Praise Be to God' After Penalty Shootout Win Over Australia

Hupu July 4th News — After Egypt eliminated Australia to advance in the World Cup, head coach Hossam Hassan addressed the press in an emotional press conference.

Opening Remarks

Reporter: Coach Hossam, a million congratulations are not enough; it should be a billion congratulations.

Hossam Hassan: Praise be to God.

Reporter: You made history. Just like in your playing days, as a coach you have conquered the impossible. You are a legend.

Hossam Hassan: Praise be to God.

Reporter: We don't have specific questions; we're just happy.

Hossam Hassan: Praise be to God.

The Final Whistle: A Moment of Emotion

Reporter: I'll ask just one question, because everyone wants to know. When the referee blew the final whistle for the first time, what did Coach Hossam Hassan feel? What was the first thing that came to your mind?

Hossam Hassan: What I saw was the entire Egyptian people. I only saw Egyptians. I kept saying: "Lord, make Egypt happy." During this past period, during the match, and during the penalty shootout, I said: "Lord, just make Egypt happy, just make the beautiful Egyptian people happy, don't let them down." That's what I said, and that's what I said between me and God before the penalty shootout.

Egyptian fans came here and created a huge presence at the World Cup. History will remember, and FIFA will remember, that in every stadium in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, there were very large numbers of Egyptian fans. So congratulations to them, congratulations to all Egyptians in my country, the Arab Republic of Egypt, congratulations to those in Egypt, congratulations to those outside Egypt, congratulations to all those living abroad, congratulations to Egyptians everywhere.

Also congratulations to the Arab world, because we belong to the Arab world; congratulations to Africa, because we belong to Africa. I also dedicate this victory to our Palestinian brothers, may God bless them and have mercy on their martyrs. After the Egyptians and the Egyptian people, I dedicate this victory to the Palestinian people, and also to the entire Arab world.

The Bond with Assistant Coach Ibrahim

Mustafa Yehia (Al-Youm Al-Sabea): Coach Hossam, a million congratulations. You made us happy, you made us hold our heads high, and you made Arabs and Egyptians hold their heads high. You brought back a state to the streets of Egypt that hasn't been seen for years.

Hossam Hassan: Praise be to God.

Mustafa Yehia: There are two things I must ask you. First, right after the match ended, we immediately saw you and Coach Ibrahim hugging each other, both crying uncontrollably. What did you say to each other at that moment? How did you manage to control yourself and then return to your coaching role? There was also a very respectful scene where you went to shake hands with the Australian coach. Second, I saw you standing next to the players before the penalty shootout. After you finished speaking before the shootout started, you said to them: "Don't be afraid of anything, whoever takes the penalty, don't be afraid." I hope you can describe these two details. Again, Coach, you made us proud, you made Egypt proud. A million congratulations, and congratulations to you, Murad, you also made all journalists proud.

Hossam Hassan: Praise be to God. After your words, I can only say that all of this is first a blessing from God, and then the effort of everyone. It is the effort of all the fans, and the effort of our brothers who received criticism everywhere, whether positive or negative criticism. And our brothers Ala, Mahmoud, Ahmed, first the locker room staff, then the medical team, the administrative team, the technical team, the media team, and of course Murad, and everyone who was with us, and the photographer brothers, those respected young people in our media center. You too, you all came to a foreign land. All of this is the hard work of everyone. The technical team, the administrative team, the board that was with us, I am very grateful for their presence and support.

I want to say, after the last penalty was scored, we almost didn't know how to speak. Ibrahim fell into a long period of crying, Tarek too, the whole team, the entire coaching staff, the same. The pressure was immense, and you could certainly feel it too; the matter was very significant and very difficult. We were under great pressure because we represent the desire to make an entire nation happy, we represent the entire Arab world, we represent Africa, and especially Egypt. So this matter was hard.

We kept saying "Praise be to God" the whole time, and what I said to him was also "Praise be to God." It was an acceptance, praise, and gratitude. I was a bit dazed; I couldn't even feel where I was. Ibrahim was crying, Tarek, Waleed, Safwan, Abdel-Wahed, everyone was the same. Praise be to God. As you said, I am truly proud that God gave us life so we could make our people happy. That's all I can say; that's the summary of the whole thing.

The Penalty Shootout: Words to the Players

Reporter: What about the moment of the penalty shootout?

Hossam Hassan: During the penalty shootout, I said: "Lord." Really, I might have to say what I said between me and God at that time. I said: "Lord, make the Egyptian people happy."

Reporter: And when you went to speak to the players at the end?

Hossam Hassan: I felt like I wanted to take the pressure off them. I said to them: "Don't think about anything, don't kick under pressure, don't feel like you are going to take a penalty, don't look at where this match is, don't look at where these fans are. Forget all that, draw a curtain over the surrounding environment. Focus only on this penalty kick, how you are going to kick it, don't think about what the goalkeeper in front of you will do." That's what I said to them in the end.

Because from my experience, both as a coach and as a player, I know that players can feel pressure and think about everything: the surrounding fans, the goalkeeper, all these things. So I wanted to take the pressure off them. Praise be to God, God gave us this vision and allowed us to pass it on to the players.

Tactical Adjustments and Team Performance

Ahmed Oweis (Toast Sports): Coach Hossam, we congratulate you. You made us proud, you made the Egyptian people proud, and you made Egyptian football proud. A historic achievement, historic numbers. Four matches unbeaten, scoring in all four matches, the Egyptian national team has never reached this position in the World Cup. Please tell us, what instructions did you give the players at halftime to hold onto the lead?

Reporter: Also, after being equalized, the team changed. You changed the formation, later switched to a back three, and Karim Hafez appeared in different positions. Throughout the match, you adjusted positions every now and then, almost having a plan every five minutes over the 120 minutes.

Hossam Hassan: First, thank you. I am very proud of my players, and of course all of us on the coaching staff are proud. When any event happens in a match, as the head coach, as the coaching team, you have to be the one leading it.

I am proud of the players; they played a complete match from the first minute to the last minute. We were in an active position for about 90% of the time over the 90 minutes, or combining all four phases of the match. We were the better team in some phases.

Australia used a lot of long balls, and of course I respect them, and I must say I am sorry to the Australian team, their coach, and players. They are a very strong team, played a great match, and I wish them and their fans good luck, and of course we have full respect for them.

But I am very satisfied with our changes from the start of the match until the end of the second half, and then into the third and fourth phases. We increased the pressure, played the ball well, and it wasn't pressure in the middle of Australia's half, but we created intense pressure near their penalty area. We missed many chances. Even when we were leading 1-0, in the first two minutes of the second half, if Omar's chance had gone in, it might have changed a lot and made things easier for us. But when that chance was missed, I felt that some things might change.

However, praise be to God, we adjusted ourselves well, got back to work, and changed some things. We made substitutions based on injuries and non-injury situations, but all the players were alert and ready for any change. This is what we have been saying for the past two and a half years: the players are used to us possibly playing in a certain way at any time, and anyone entering the pitch must be ready. You saw that I said in the pre-match press conference that I trust all 26 players. I had hoped that some players absent due to injury and suspension could also be here, but I have confidence in all the players I have.

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