Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan – the no-nonsense twins leading Egypt’s World Cup charge

The Athletic has dwell protection of New Zealand vs Egypt at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

With their black t-shirts, broad shoulders and boulder-shaped heads, the “twins,” as they are usually known as in Egypt as if they’re the similar being, they appear to be boxing gymnasium trainers as they tempo the touchline moderately than the ring, ready to pounce on the incidents that unfold in entrance of them.

It is reflective of the dynamic that Ibrahim Hassan is commonly beside his brother throughout these moments as a result of group administrators like him are usually in the stands, leaving the front-facing work to the managers and in Egypt’s case, that’s Hossam.

Yet Ibrahim tends to go the place he needs. During the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), held in Morocco earlier this 12 months, he would seem in press auditoriums. While his brother answered questions from the high of the room, Ibrahim would sit beside journalists and, how let’s assume it, forcefully debate the deserves of sure questions.

The duo are to not be taken evenly. Hossam obtained the job in 2024 quickly after suggesting Mohamed Salah, the group’s captain, should not trouble retuning to camp even when he was match after going again to Liverpool to cope with a hamstring damage that ruined his match in Ivory Coast. “Here,” Hossam harassed, “We have the men to do the job.”

Except, Egypt didn’t and it partly explains why he ended up changing Rui Vitoria following a spherical of 16 exit. It shouldn’t be thought-about a shock that Ibrahim subsequently obtained his personal function as a result of throughout their enjoying careers, if considered one of them moved to a brand new membership, the different tended to comply with.

Having began out at Al Ahly, the Hassan brothers examined themselves in Europe with spells at PAOK in Greece and Neuchatel Xamax in Switzerland, the place they have been coached by Roy Hodgson. Hossam was a striker however Ibrahim, usually a right-back, generally performed in midfield for the Swiss membership. In 1991-92, he scored a well-known free kick in a victory over Real Madrid however the pair returned to Al Ahly earlier than briefly enjoying for Al Ain in United Arab Emirates. Then, in 2000, by making the determination to signal for Zamalek, in the phrases of Haytham Farouk, a team-mate at their new membership, they virtually brought about “World War Three”.

There could be little doubt that Salah is now the most well-known footballer to return from Egypt however Hossam Hassan, the nation’s all-time leading scorer with 69 objectives in 177 video games, tends to encourage stronger emotions as a result of not like Salah, he has performed for each of Cairo’s hottest golf equipment. Meanwhile, he has received three AFCON titles and Salah, at 34, continues to be hoping to ship his first.

Salah is Egypt’s first world celebrity due to what he has achieved in Europe. His objectives have additionally led Egypt into two World Cups however Hossam has expertise of that, having scored the header that beat Algeria, sealing qualification for the 1990 version in Italy.

In Simon Hart’s e-book about the match, World in Motion, Scottish defender Alex McLeish recalled dealing with Hossam in a pleasant earlier that 12 months. The Egyptians have been “fast and aggressive” and typified by Hossam, who broke McLeish’s nostril when leaping for a header.

For Farouk, who entered the worldwide arrange in the mid-90s, the Hassan brothers embodied the “enthusiasm and fighting spirit” that runs by means of Egyptian soccer. “Hossam is one of the best strikers I have ever played against,” Farouk tells TheAthletic. “He was skilful, he was physical and he would test you in the air. The all-round center-forward. It was better to be playing with him than against him.”

Hossam Hassan challenges Ireland’s Andy Townsend at the 1990 World Cup (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Farouk began at Zamalek, the membership has returned to after a spell in Europe with Dutch giants Feyenoord. He may by no means think about enjoying for Al Ahly as a consequence of a rivalry which he insists is “unlike any other.” In his e-book, When Friday Comes, James Montague suggests the relationship could be defined by British colonialism: whereas Al Ahly was based in 1907 and emerged as a group for the folks, “a bulwark against occupation and the chance for the average man to celebrate a national cause,” Zamalek have been thought-about the group of the foreigner as a result of it attracted not solely the colonizers however individuals who grew to become wealthy by what Egyptian nationalists known as “collaboration.”

“Zamalek also became home to authors, poets and intellectuals who were uneasy with Egypts’ newfound nationalistic confidence,” Montague wrote. “As much as the Cairo derby was about nationalism, it was also about class; the truly loyal man on the street versus the effete, shabbily wealthy liberal.”

The hatred was so intense that at the begin of the Nineties, video games have been not performed at house grounds, with Cairo’s nationwide stadium as a substitute internet hosting derbies that have been generally refereed by officers from overseas.

You can think about, then, the response when the Hassan brothers signed for Zamalek after two spells at Al Ahly, the membership the place they began their careers. The story goes that Al Ahly had determined to not provide Ibrahim a brand new deal and this prompted Hossam to go away as properly. Farouk remembers vividly sitting in the press convention when the brothers signed the contract with Zamalek, pondering, “This is the deal of the century.”

Hassan didn’t play in the subsequent derby, a 1-1 draw the place Farouk scored Zamalek’s aim. Both gamers have been 34 at the time but when the determination makers at Al Ahly believed they have been dropping their contact, they have been unsuitable as a result of Zamalek received three league titles and one CAF Champions League in the years that adopted. Egyptians are likely to suppose the brothers consider the world is in opposition to them. After Zamalek’s 2-1 win over Al Ahly in 2021, Ibrahim supported that impression by suggesting that “God makes the earth swallow up” anybody who challenges them.

Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan throughout Egypt’s World Cup qualifier in opposition to Djibouti in October 2025 (Abdel Majid Bziouat/Getty Images)

One story pertains to Hossam being dropped from the nationwide group in the mid-90s. I’ve tried to resolve the challenge by arriving at the coach’s house in the center of the evening. Controversy has hardly ever been far-off: Ibrahim didn’t, for instance, win AFCON as a result of he was banned by the Egyptian FA for the 1998 version for flicking his center finger at Moroccan supporters throughout a qualifier in Rabat. Before that incident, a combat between gamers from the Egyptian nationwide group and a Lebanese XI obtained so unhealthy that the military needed to intervene. It was at this level, Ibrahim feared a military officer was going to hit his brother with a rifle and famously, he grabbed it from him.

With the passing of time, some Al Ahly followers have forgiven the brothers for his or her determination to hitch Zamalek. Despite modest careers as coaches, they have been widespread decisions for the nationwide set-up as a result of many believed they might instill the kind of self-discipline and ardour that’s wanted for Egypt to win. Hossam as soon as mentioned that he would proceed enjoying for his nation even when there have been bullets flying throughout the pitch.

Tacticians and podcasters have been initially much less satisfied however outcomes have been persistently good since their appointments, with Egypt having misplaced only one aggressive match — a slim semi-final defeat to Senegal at AFCON in January. In qualifying for the World Cup, certainly, they have been unbeaten and final week began the competitors with an encouraging attacking efficiency in a draw with Belgium.

Farouk believes they’ve confirmed they are often extra even-handed over delicate points. Hossam, for instance, has persistently given his public help to Salah since turning into the supervisor. He has additionally proven he isn’t naive tactically by switching formations relying on the opponent. According to Farouk, most significantly “you can feel the connection between the players” for the first time shortly. “The twins can do well because they understand Egyptian pressure,” he concludes. “They have dealt with it their whole lives.”