Hossam Hassan Explains How He Motivated Egypt's Players During Penalties

Egypt's head coach, Hossam Hassan, urged his players to block out the pressure and focus solely on their penalty kicks against Australia. His tactic paid off as the "Pharaohs" converted all four of their spot-kicks, securing their first-ever knockout stage victory at a World Cup. Egypt triumphed with an aggregate score of 5:3, advancing to the Round of 16 where they will face reigning world champions Argentina on Tuesday (7:00 PM Bulgarian time).

“I went to the players and spoke with them. I wanted to alleviate the pressure. I told them: ‘Don’t succumb to the pressure. Don’t think about it. Don’t look around wondering what to do. Just draw the curtain. Put everything aside and don’t think about anything else. Only think about your penalty. Don’t even think about the goalkeeper, just the execution,’” Hassan shared.

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The Egypt coach, who is the country's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, possesses extensive experience in such high-pressure situations: “As a coach and former player, I know the pressure is immense. They think about everything – the fans, the noise, everything.”

The Egyptian players' penalty executions were flawless, including that of captain Mohamed Salah.

“I am so proud that the boys played such a strong game from the first to the last minute. I think we controlled 90% of the match. Australia also played a great game. They were excellent opponents. But with all due respect to them, we put them under a lot of pressure. We missed many chances, and when Omar Marmoush didn't capitalize on that gift (at the start of the second half), I thought something was wrong. But we re-evaluated the plan, made a few changes, and things worked out,” concluded the Egyptian coach.