Hundreds of excited fans welcomed Egypt’s national football team home on Friday. The Pharaohs produced their best-ever World Cup campaign before crashing out in a dramatic last-16 defeat to Argentina.
According to AFP, supporters dressed in Egypt’s red, white and black colours gathered outside the airport in El-Alamein. There, the players boarded an open-top bus for a parade through the coastal city.
Fans waved Egyptian flags, sang patriotic songs and celebrated the team despite the painful 3-2 defeat to Argentina. Notably, Argentina came from two goals down in the closing stages to reach the quarter-finals.
The Egypt World Cup return came after the Pharaohs recorded their first-ever win at the tournament. They also reached the last 16 for the first time in their history.
“We are very happy with the team,” supporter Mohamed Gehad told AFP at the airport.
“Their spirit was high, and ours is high as we welcome them,” he added.
Egypt had looked close to producing one of the biggest shocks of the tournament after taking a 2-0 lead against defending champions Argentina. However, Lionel Messi inspired a late comeback. Then, Enzo Fernández scored the winner in stoppage time.
Despite the heartbreak, supporters remained proud of the team’s performance. Some fans wore shirts bearing the name of captain Mohamed Salah. Meanwhile, others carried handwritten banners reading, “You made us proud, men.”
“They reached a stage they had never reached before and we are proud of them,” another fan, Eyad Ahmed, told AFP.
The Egypt World Cup return also featured strong support for Palestine, with some fans waving Palestinian flags alongside Egyptian flags.
Supporters also displayed a poster of coach Hossam Hassan draping both flags over himself during the tournament.
Salah, reacting to the celebrations, said he wanted the team’s achievement to mark a fresh era for Egyptian football.
“I’ll do everything in my power to ensure this is a new beginning for Egyptian football on the international stage,” he wrote on social media.
The players are expected to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday. The Egyptian leader had earlier thanked the team for what he described as an “honourable performance.”
The Egyptian Football Association has also lodged a complaint over the officiating in the Argentina match. Meanwhile, Hassan accused the match officials of injustice.
However, FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina rejected the claims and described them as unfounded allegations.
Hassan also drew praise in Gaza during the tournament after waving a Palestinian flag on the pitch. This happened following Egypt’s penalty shootout win over Australia.
At a pre-match press conference, he described the suffering of Palestinians as a “shame on the world.” In addition, he urged football to do more to support them.
The Egypt World Cup return has now turned a painful elimination into a national celebration. Fans are now hailing Salah, Hassan and the rest of the squad for taking the country further than ever before.
