A night that would never be forgotten. A moment when millions held their breath. In the fourth minute of their match against Algeria, Egypt’s Hossam Hassan timed his run to perfection, springing up to head the ball into the back of the net, securing the Pharaohs’ ticket to the FIFA World Cup™ for the first time in 56 years.
Overjoyed at the result, the players were brought to tears as their fans’ chants rang around the Cairo Stadium. It was the crowning achievement for a golden generation who had consistently demonstrated their strength in Africa, most notably winning the 1986 CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
Egypt were drawn in a very tough group at their first FIFA World Cup™ in 56 years, but they did themselves proud. Mahmoud El Gohary’s men drew 1-1 with reigning European champions the Netherlands in their opener, before a goalless stalemate with Republic of Ireland. A 1-0 loss to England sent Egypt home.
Goalkeeper Ahmed Shobair, defender Hany Ramzy, twins Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan, and captain and striker Gamal Abdelhamid has nevertheless left their mark on football’s biggest stage. FIFA caught up with the latter to discuss Italy 1990.
Gamal Abdelhamid: I have a lot of special memories of that campaign. From the moment we qualified, we wanted to go up against the biggest teams and prove ourselves to the world. As it happened, we were drawn in a very tough group, with European champions the Netherlands as well as England. I can still remember when we first made our way to the changing room. We stopped to watch the Dutch players because we were just used to seeing them on TV, and now there we were, getting ready to play them. Here’s another funny memory. As we were heading out to the pitch, it was clear how much of a physical advantage they had over us. As the captain, I was at the front, alongside Ruud Gullit, and I found myself on my tiptoes, trying not to look so short in comparison! (laughs)
Fans still look back very fondly on that team because we only lost one match, 1-0 against England, and we put in some really good performances to secure results that made Egypt proud, especially in our game against the Netherlands.
The Netherlands, without a doubt. When we were preparing for the game, coach Mahmoud El Gohary told us we were predicted to lose 7-1, but then he made a very inspiring speech that really gave us the confidence we needed. He told us we each needed to demonstrate our true ability and put in our usual performance, stressing that we were capable of playing really good football. We were thinking about our families because we wanted to make them proud, and that’s why we looked like Brazil when we played the Netherlands. It was one of our best-ever performances.
I think the biggest difference is the professionalism. In 1990, we only really had one professional in the squad, Magdi Abdelghani. Nowadays the team is made up of professionals who have played in Europe, like [Mohamed] Salah, [Omar] Marmoush, Mostafa Mohamed, [Mohamed] Abdelmonem and Trezeguet. They have experience of different playing styles, which is reflected in their character and confidence. Even with all that professional experience abroad, it is still the dream of every player to represent Egypt at a World Cup.
It was a very tiring role. It’s a lot of work to lead a group of stars like Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan, Shobair, Hesham Yakan, Magdi Abdelghani and all the others. We had two years to prepare for the tournament, and during our training camps, El Gohary almost made me another manager, giving me the responsibility for keeping the players entertained, making sure everyone turned up on time, even banning phones at night and awarding bonuses. Although it was sometimes a challenge to keep such a large group of stars in check off the pitch, they were exceptionally committed on the pitch.
Playing next to Hossam Hassan was a lot of fun. I’d describe him as loyal, determined and driven to win. On the pitch, we really understood each other and complemented each other’s game. He worked really hard pressing, while I stayed calm and focused on picking up balls behind him. His hard work paid off when he scored the historic goal that earned us our place at the 1990 World Cup.
