While praise poured in for Egypt's head coach Hossam Hassan and his players after their successful qualification to the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, the ceiling of ambitions has risen on the Egyptian street, which was not content with celebrating the current achievement, but raised the bar of its dreams even further.

Egypt qualified for the World Cup Round of 16 for the first time, after defeating Australia 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in regular and extra time. It is the first victory for the 'Pharaohs' in knockout rounds in their World Cup history.

Sports figures and analysts praised the Egyptian achievement, affirming that Hossam Hassan succeeded in reviving the fighting spirit of the team, despite the challenges and injuries faced by the players.

Social media platforms in Egypt witnessed widespread celebration by users of the coaching staff and players, with the name of head coach Hossam Hassan trending, along with several of his players, most notably Mohamed Salah, Haitham Hassan, Mohamed Hany, and Emam Ashour.

Tweeters praised the abilities of player Haitham Hassan in his first World Cup appearance, and the experience of Pharaohs captain Mohamed Salah, and his Panenka-style penalty kick. Despite criticism of right-back Mohamed Hany for his own goal, many praised his performance throughout the match and the tournament.

Fans expressed their pride in the team, praising the coaching staff's ability to overcome difficulties and reach this advanced stage of the tournament.

Egypt's national team and coaching staff celebrate the win (Egyptian Football Association)

Many fans also affirmed that the team is capable of competing with the big teams again if they continue with the same tactical performance displayed during the tournament.

While some fans affirmed that merely reaching the Round of 16 is a 'dream come true,' others expressed their dreams of more success and achievement in the tournament, and overcoming the next rounds to reach as far as possible.

The 'Pharaohs' will face Argentina next Tuesday, July 7 of this year, in the World Cup Round of 16. It is a match that fans were anticipating even before facing Australia, and it occupied part of their comments; they called for maintaining the same fighting spirit against Messi and his teammates to ensure continued progress in the tournament.

Sports critic Mustafa Saber considered that the praise for Hossam Hassan and the players is 'deserved' because the team did not just achieve a win, but 'achieved a historic feat by reaching the Round of 16 of the World Cup for the first time.'

He added to Asharq Al-Awsat: 'The Egyptian national team showed a strong character in the match against Australia, especially in dealing with penalty kicks after years in which they were a clear weakness, and I believe the team proved its ability to continue, but competing in further rounds requires technical stability and maintaining the same spirit.'

The coaching staff of the Egyptian national team received great praise after reaching the World Cup Round of 16 (Egyptian Football Association)

Saber points out that the match against Argentina will be completely different technically and mentally, so 'it is necessary to stop the danger of Argentina's stars and reduce spaces between the lines because they are skilled at exploiting any defensive error, and players must not be physically drained after the Australia match which extended to 120 minutes, and most importantly, change the mentality so that players enter any match aiming to win regardless of the opponent's name, not just to put up an honorable performance.'

For her part, sports critic Rania Abdel Wahab believes that what Egyptians are experiencing today cannot be reduced to a match result or qualification to a new round, but rather a complete restoration of their right to dream, after three previous World Cup participations that left no memorable achievements.

She adds to Asharq Al-Awsat: 'This team seems like a phenomenon that is difficult to explain by numbers alone; a group of players brought an entire nation back to dreaming, and perhaps they themselves were in dire need of this dream; we feel that their ambitions on the field are greater than the ambitions of millions of Egyptians watching from behind the screens.'

She continues: 'Hossam Hassan was the first to believe in this team, he believed in himself, and believed in his players, and relied on national spirit and rallying around the Egyptian jersey as two weapons no less important than any tactical plan or technical superiority, thus creating an exceptional atmosphere inside the camp, the impact of which reached the Egyptian street, so the team became the talk of homes, cafes, and squares, and Egyptians began anticipating the next match date with the same passion that many thought had disappeared forever.'

Regarding the match against Argentina, the sports critic points out that this encounter 'does not require excessive confidence, nor killing the fans' enthusiasm with calls for excessive realism; all that is needed is to transform these feelings and ambitions into energy on the field, and perseverance until the last moment.'

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