DALLAS, TEXAS — Egypt boss Hossam Hassan has declared Mohamed Salah fit – but perhaps not from the start – for their Round of 32 clash with Australia, an opponent whose qualities he said he thinks “we can deal with”.
Speaking to media in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, Hassan sent a message to Egypt’s football mad fans that he hopes to bring more joy to African and Middle Eastern football. Judging by some of the questions, they expect a date with Argentina in the Round of 16, a contest between Mohamed Salah and Lionel Messi.
Hassan tried to bring focus back to the challenge at hand first here, but parlayed any concerns from questions about Australia’s physicality.
“Of course I have been following the Australian squad sine the qualifying campaign and that it has participated in the Asian Cup and I followed the same, Iran for instance.
“They have experienced players and (also) the long balls and physical strength they are a great team and I respect every squad that we face.
“Speaking about the Australian national squad, (they are) very diverse, they not only rely on the long shots, they have a lot of individual talents.
“All of that is a great picture for that national squad – I am sure they can answer the questions (about us too) and offer solutions.
“They are very fast and with the set pieces… they are doing great.
“I am very respectful of them and now we are all in the round of 32 – everyone deserves to be here.
Mohamed Salah. Photos: Football360
“We have the objective to make our fans happy and this is how we’re going to play. We are not a small nation we have won the AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations) seven times, we have individual talent in the squad.
“Both teams are going to play to win tomorrow be it Australia or Egypt, single talents or collective …we look forward to tomorrow.”
He added: “On the African continent, we are well aware, we have vast experience with tall players, comparable to the Australian side we are going to face tomorrow, also comparable to New Zealand, Iran, Belgium – the level of physicality we have dealt well with so far with such conditions.
“It is not just about defenders, the squad as a whole.
“Everyone has to deal with those heights, taller opponents – we have to deliver a balanced game, we have to contain set pieces, aerial balls that some squads are very heavily reliant upon…which we have seen against Iran and might see tomorrow against Australia.
“Every national team has its weaknesses and strengths. We are well prepared to deal with everything we are going to face.”
When asked again about the physical nature of the contest, he quipped: “We’re not playing rugby here we’re playing football!”
“(We will play) a balanced game, as a collective…we need to have our own personality and imprint it on the pitch,” he said.
“Of course we have our own style, the Australia squad plays with long balls and long shots and likes to have more possession but I think we can deal with that.
“I don’t think we’ve met any opponent we haven’t studied meticulously in smallest details. We go through this in theoretical side then train on training pitch and try to do our best to do our best to have tactics in place for opponent.”
With so much focus on Salah, Egypt’s boss was keen to point out that his game plan revolves around much more than one player – as important as he is. “One of the most important players world wide,” he added.
“We have been working hard on our own style, personality and footprint on the pitch – defensively or offensively (for two years),” he said.
“It is not just about the style of play of one player, it is a collective endeavour.
“Egyptian, Arab, African fans have felt this when watching our previous games, we play a collective game, this is what we are aiming to showcase tomorrow.
“You have seen we are capable of scoring; despite we have conceded 2 goals so far but we plan on delivering a balanced game tomorrow…paying all due respect to the Australian side.
“As I have said, every match is a new tournament in itself, we take it one match at a time and aim to bring joy to our people, the African continent, the Arab world. Us as Arabs, Africans, we hope we live up to the expectations.”