Egypt national football team coach Hossam Hassan pledged that his team will fight to win the Africa Cup of Nations title scheduled for later this year in Morocco, after securing qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

His twin brother Ibrahim, the team manager, said the “Pharaohs” hope next year in North America to repeat the achievement Morocco made in the 2022 World Cup by finishing in a historic fourth place.

Egypt secured their World Cup spot before the final round of African qualifiers by topping Group A, finishing with a 1-0 win over Guinea-Bissau on Sunday at Cairo International Stadium, five points ahead of runner-up Burkina Faso.

Hossam, who previously led the Pharaohs’ attack as a player in the 1990 World Cup in Italy, said in a post-match TV interview, “It is a great honor for me to become the only Egyptian to qualify for the World Cup as both player and coach. Winning will help us in the seeding before the finals draw.”

The World Cup finals draw will take place on December 5 in Washington.

Hossam added, “Our focus now will be on the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, and we will fight to win it because Egypt is the historical champion of this tournament. The task will be very difficult especially with Morocco as the host, but we will prepare strongly.”

Egypt has won the title a record seven times, most recently in 2010.

The 59-year-old coach added, “We have succeeded in lowering the average age of players to 25 years and we have a wonderful young generation. We seek to provide good preparation for the Africa Cup first, then we will think about how to prepare for the World Cup.”

Egypt plays in Group B alongside South Africa, Angola, and Zimbabwe.

Responding to reports of disagreements between Hossam Hassan and captain Mohamed Salah, Liverpool star, he said, “Salah is like my little brother and a pride for Egypt. Some tried to create a rift between us but he is a smart player with high morals and deals with everyone very professionally. Some felt sad because we finished the qualifiers undefeated but the important thing is that the fans are happy.”

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Hassan praised Salah’s performance in the qualifiers: “Salah led Egypt to the World Cup twice, which is exceptional. His presence is important to everyone and the players love him, and team spirit dominates everyone, which is why we succeeded in qualifying.”

Ibrahim, who played alongside his twin Hossam in the 1990 World Cup, continued, “The qualifiers were not easy and all teams have professionals in the biggest clubs in Europe. We faced great difficulties in some camps due to clubs refusing to release players, but we worked hard and qualified deservedly.”

Ibrahim believes Egypt can repeat Morocco’s results in the 2022 World Cup: “Why not repeat what Morocco achieved? A year before the Qatar World Cup, we defeated them in the Africa Cup of Nations, and if we have everyone’s support, we can achieve anything.”

The team manager pledged to compete for the Africa Cup title: “We will fight to win any tournament we participate in, and we do not recognize what is called honorable representation. Personally, I feel sad if we lose a friendly match, and we will play to win every match whether in the Africa Cup of Nations or even the World Cup.”

Winger Mahmoud Hassan (Trezeguet) said, “I lost the Africa Cup final twice, which is very difficult, and I will fight to win it this time.”

Trezeguet was part of the Pharaohs squad that lost the 2017 final against Cameroon, then the 2021 final against Senegal.

He added, “This generation is strong and has a respected coach who was a football legend in Egypt, so we will start working immediately to compete for the Africa Cup title in Morocco.”

Midfielder Ahmed Sayed (Zizo) said, “I have dreamed throughout my career of participating in the World Cup. We qualified deservedly and now I hope to be part of the team that will participate in the tournament. We have professionals at the highest level and Egyptian league players are no less in quality, and our goal is to achieve good results in the finals.”

Striker Mostafa Mohamed of Nantes said, “Qualifying for the World Cup makes us happy, but this should become a habit and we should qualify for every future edition of the tournament.”

He pointed out that the Pharaohs’ current goal is to compete for the Africa Cup of Nations title: “This generation was one step away from winning the title in 2021 if not for penalty shootouts. We will do our best to achieve positive results in Morocco and bring the cup back to Egypt.”