Marwan Hamdi’s Rise Triggers Ahmed Atef Ouster as Egypt Preps for Arab Cup
30 November 2025
What happened
Conflicting statements spark mystery around the decision!
The Egypt national team’s technical staff announced the exclusion of Ahmed Atef, ZED’s forward, from the squad set to compete in the Arab Cup in Qatar, which runs from December 1 to 18.
Egypt will play in Group C alongside Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.
The Pharaohs open their campaign against Kuwait, then face the UAE, and finally meet Jordan on December 9.
Sources within the squad say head coach Helmy Toulan excluded Atef after Pyramids FC agreed to include Marwan Hamdi in the Arab Cup squad.
Marwan Hamdi is the striker Toulan has favored in the Pharaohs’ plans.
Atef told reporters that the decision cites injury, but he insists he is fully fit and ready for selection.
Implications for Egypt
“I was excluded because Hamdi was called up; it’s odd to issue the decision 24 hours before kick-off,” he said.
The 27-year-old Atef has played 13 matches for ZED this season, scoring three goals, and he has appeared in three matches for Egypt’s first team without scoring.
Egypt completed its squad with the addition of Mido Gaber and Karim Al-Iraqi from Al Masry, who joined Doha this Sunday.
The federation president, Hany Abou Rida, met the team upon arriving in Doha to stress the importance of the Arab Cup and the need for maximum effort to deliver strong results.
Abou Rida expressed great confidence in the players and staff, saying they can produce performances worthy of the Egyptian football and please the fans.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Mostafa Ezzam, the federation’s executive director; Captain Hassan Farid, head of the delegation and a member of the technical committee; Helmy Toulan, the head coach; Ahmed Hassan, the team manager; along with other administrative and medical staff.
Punchline 1: If football decisions were weather, they’d always be partly cloudy with a chance of Marwan Hamdi.
Punchline 2: Don’t worry, the scoreboard will tell the truth—eventually, even a drama has to score.
