«After Argentina, who will we face?.. We will face Mona El Shazly», a sarcastic joke that went viral on social media among Egyptian fans on the eve of the Argentina match in the Round of 16 of the World Cup. In light of the strength of the Argentine national team and its stars, the public mocked by suggesting Egyptian TV host Mona El Shazly as a potential opponent, after exiting the World Cup, by hosting the Pharaohs players on her entertainment TV show.

«Ma'akom Mona El Shazly» program is one of the most prominent entertainment programs in Egypt, and is currently broadcast on ON channel. The program hosts people who have topped search engines or trends after personal achievements or issues that have preoccupied public opinion.

With the continued official and popular celebration of the Egyptian national team, and the intensive media appearances of its players and coaching staff since their arrival in Egypt last Friday, the joke was reused in the form: «After Mona El Shazly, who will the national team face?», to which others replied: «So we'll play Es'ad Younis in the quarterfinals».

Egyptian international Emam Ashour with his family during celebrations with fans (Egyptian Football Association)

Since the return of the Egyptian national team after its elimination in the famous match against Argentina, after losing 2-3, local media have not stopped celebrating the players and the technical and administrative staff through multiple interviews that have flooded the media. But what initially seemed like a deserved tribute soon turned into material for criticism and sarcasm, due to what was described as «excessive joy» and celebrating an incomplete achievement, although exceptional in some aspects.

The Pharaohs reaching the Round of 16 is the best achievement for the Egyptian national team in the World Cup, as it had never progressed past the group stage in its three previous participations in 1934, 1990, and 2018, nor had it ever achieved any victory in its history.

Fan criticism began with the honor in the new city of El Alamein, where many felt the reception was more official than popular, and that the absence of fans weakened the joy of the World Cup achievement.

As the tribute moved to Cairo Stadium, the debate continued; some felt the fan scene fulfilled the purpose, but at the same time opened the door to questions about the usefulness of exaggerated celebrations after elimination.

Thousands of Egyptian fans celebrated their national team at Cairo Stadium on Monday evening, honoring its results in the World Cup. The Egyptian national team players and coaching staff entered the pitch in an open-top bus to greet the attending fans, before moving on to musical performances and celebrations with the fans.

However, some criticism arose about the successive celebrations over the past few days, which seemed to some to be exaggerated, as social media platforms expressed these criticisms, with Egyptian artists and followers joining in.

Egypt national team head coach Hossam Hassan with TV host Mona El Shazly (ON channel Facebook page)

Artist Ahmed El Saadany criticized the Cairo Stadium celebration, calling for its cancellation, noting that the tribute by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to the delegation and then the intensive media appearances were sufficient, explaining that «things are getting too messy», indicating that matters began to lose seriousness and turn into exaggeration.

Artist Taha Desouky also expressed his dissatisfaction with the content of questions and discussions with national team players and coaching staff in several TV programs, stressing that this opportunity should have been used to present interviews befitting the achievement of the national team.

Desouky wrote on his Facebook account: «We haven't had time to write questions and we'll make it a delight and it happened or not, and everyone wants to catch the trend, and we live in a big mess of this kind of procession».

Several other platform users expressed the same criticisms in their posts through disapproval and sarcasm, where one female fan commented on the Cairo Stadium event: «Joy is nice... and the party is beautiful.. but they should reduce the Mona El Shazly interviews».

While the appearance of the head coach, Hossam Hassan, with the famous TV host garnered great interaction, a comment said: «There are still the rest of the players, each with his wife, with Mona El Shazly, and still Es'ad Younis and a big story», in reference to expected continued media appearances.

Meanwhile, one user disapproved of the exaggeration of the players' media presence by asking: «Is there any hope I can enter social media and not find the players, their families, and their programs, and find something useful?».

Honoring the Egyptian national team for its World Cup achievement turned into material for criticism and sarcasm (Egyptian Football Association)

But sports critic Ayman Heridy does not agree with these criticisms, telling Asharq Al-Awsat: «The Egyptian national team deserves the tribute for its performance in the World Cup. The tribute is important to boost the morale of the players before the upcoming international commitments, and to confirm the return of confidence once again in the national team, which now possesses distinguished elements expected to bring Egypt back to the podium at the continental level, in addition to writing a new history in the next World Cup».

He added: «I think the tribute proved that the Egyptian public was yearning for the return of the Pharaohs to strong performances again. Also, celebrating the national team in itself carries a message to the players, and places great responsibility on them in the coming period, because they are required to deliver stronger performances and results that please everyone».

In contrast, sports critic Mostafa Saber believes that the problem is not in the celebration, but in the exaggeration and its transformation into a feeling of complacency or ignoring the mistakes that still need improvement, adding to Asharq Al-Awsat: «Celebrating the national team is natural after a historic achievement, and fans have the right to celebrate their team, and this support gives the players a great morale boost. But at the same time, objective technical criticism must continue so that the national team continues its successes».

Regarding the media appearances of the players, he explains: «The national team achieved an exceptional achievement, and it is natural that there is media interest in it. But at the same time, this appearance must be organized and studied so as not to distract the players, and regulated in a way that serves the interest of the national team. The priority in the next stage should be preparation for the future, with a calculated media communication that maintains the fans' connection with the national team without excess».