Egypt’s Football Team Returned Home To A Hero’s Welcome After A Historic World Cup Performance
Players and coaching staff rode through the city on an open-top bus as supporters lined the streets.
Egypt's football team came home to a hero's welcome after a historic World Cup performance.
Egypt is one of the biggest football nations in Africa, but it has only qualified for the World Cup four times, in 1934, 1990, 2018 and now in 2026, and has never once made it out of the group stage.
This year, Egypt has had an incredible run at the World Cup, winning its first-ever World Cup match against New Zealand, then qualifying for the round of 16 after beating Australia on penalties in the knockout round, leading thousands of people to cheer for Egypt across the Arab world and Africa.
Egypt played Argentina in the round of 16 on July 7 in Atlanta, but the match drew huge controversy worldwide over the referee’s officiating of the game, with some people claiming it was in favor of Argentina.
The match statistics showed that Argentina committed 13 fouls and got zero yellow cards, while Egypt committed 10 fouls and got five yellow cards.
Following the match, Egypt's head coach Hossam Hassan said that officials had been under pressure to keep Argentina — and specifically Argentina's star forward, Lionel Messi — in the tournament for “marketing” reasons, while one of the players Mostafa Zico said the referee was “unfair,” adding that it was a clear and blatant injustice.
FIFA's head of refereeing Pierluigi Collina said that debate over decisions is normal in football, but that "unfounded allegations have no place in our sport."
The team landed in New Alamein, a coastal city where Egypt's government relocates in summer, on July 10, to find thousands of fans waiting outside the airport, waving Egyptian flags.
Players and coaching staff rode through the city on an open-top bus as supporters lined the streets.
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who had already thanked the team in a post on social media for an "unprecedented milestone" in Egyptian football, met with the players on Saturday, July 11, and congratulated them.
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