The Dimmed Joy: Why Egypt’s World Cup Moment Felt Muted

Muted Joy: Why Egypt’s World Cup Moment Felt Muted

Egypt returned to the World Cup finals in 2026 after navigating the qualifiers under manager Hossam Hassan, marking the team’s fourth appearance at the tournament.

Egypt delivered impressive performances in the qualifiers by remaining unbeaten across 10 games and keeping a clean sheet in the last six matches.

Egypt secured qualification with a round to spare, ensuring their World Cup appearance after missing the Qatar edition.

Despite these positives, the mood among Egyptian fans was quieter than in past campaigns, a contrast to the celebrations seen in 1990 or 2018.

To understand the muted mood, Kooora explores several contributing factors in the sections below.

More spots and easier qualifiers

The key factor is Africa’s expanded slots for the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, with 48 teams taking part.

Africa will have nine direct slots plus a half-spot via the global playoff, making the path simpler than in earlier editions.

Even more favorable was avoiding some of the continent’s traditional giants in the process, allowing Egypt to advance more comfortably than many peers.

Compared to 2022, Egypt faced Gabon, Angola, and Libya in the opening phase, then required a playoff against Senegal. In 2018, the group included Ghana, Uganda, and the Congo, with tougher challenges in prior campaigns.

These elements fed the impression that this qualification was comparatively easier, and thus the triumph felt less explosive.

Lack of notable achievements

A second factor is the absence of conspicuous recent successes by Egypt, which dampened the celebratory mood around qualification.

Since 2018, Egypt has not reached a World Cup final tournament, and even when they did participate, results were underwhelming—no wins, losses to Uruguay, Russia and Saudi Arabia, plus off-field controversies surrounding pre-tournament preparations and the infamous team hotel visits and media episodes, highlighted by captain Mohamed Salah in a famous post-tournament video.

Egypt has not won the Africa Cup of Nations since 2010 and were knocked out early in the 2019 edition on home soil, which contributed to leadership changes amid broader turmoil in the federation.

Egypt reached the 2021 final under Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz but lost on penalties to Senegal after beating Cameroon and Ivory Coast in earlier rounds.

In 2023, Egypt exited early in the Round of 16 to DR Congo under Rui Vitoria. All these negative results helped fans drift away from the national team, with stadiums sometimes sparsely filled despite star players like Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush on the roster.

Club dominance over the national team

A third factor is the strong pull of club loyalties that can overshadow the national team, a trend visible in several recent episodes.

Attendance at national team matches has dwindled since the 2022 World Cup qualifier against Senegal, even during important club fixtures, as fans focus on the fortunes of clubs such as Al Ahly and Zamalek.

With the national team’s profile lower and the media spotlight shifting toward clubs, public attention has largely followed the clubs’ fortunes.

Chronic crises

The Egyptian football scene is rife with recurring crises that generate controversy and dominate discourse, from transfers to inter-club relations and governance with the federation.

Every day brings a fresh headline, diverting attention away from the achievement of reaching a World Cup finals berth.

Finally, the article notes that while the qualification is a milestone, the accompanying context explains the tempered public reaction rather than unbridled jubilation.

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Sniper punchline #1: If Egypt’s road to the World Cup were a movie, the popcorn budget would be heartbreakingly low but the drama would still be in Dolby—quiet, but deadly accurate.

Sniper punchline #2: They say good things come to those who wait; in Egypt’s case, good things may come to those who wait, watch, and hope the Wi‑Fi doesn’t cut out during the final whistle.