Egypt coach Hossam Hassan has dismissed reports of unrest involving Mohamed Salah as the team prepares for a crucial World Cup Group G match against New Zealand at BC Place later today (6pm local, 2am BST, 11am AEST). Salah, 34, has scored nine goals in Egypt’
BC Place is set to host a tense Group G showdown, and Egypt are walking into it with one topic dominating the build-up: Mohamed Salah.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan moved quickly to shut down talk of a rift around their talisman as his side prepare to face New Zealand later today. Hassan said there were no issues within the squad ahead of the crucial World Cup Group G match at BC Place. with kick-off scheduled for 6pm local time. 2am BST and 11am AEST.
Salah, 34, has been central to Egypt’s tournament story even before the New Zealand game arrives. He scored nine goals in the qualifying campaign and set the tone in Egypt’s opening match against Belgium. providing an assist for Emam Ashour in the 1-1 draw. In that Seattle match, Salah was substituted in the 76th minute, with Hamza Abdelkarim—an 18-year-old—coming on.
Hassan’s response was blunt about how he sees the squad dynamics. “Salah is an important player for our squad. and the 26 players who are here with me are very important. ” Hassan said yesterday. He added that “every player who has worked with me knows I deal with them in a professional manner” and that he “does not have favourites.”.
The coach also framed Salah’s role as something that stays intact whether he starts or comes on. “Salah is a great player who helps his teammates. He has a lot of discipline and is a role model. If he starts … or if he gets substituted, it’s fine. It is his role as a player. Everyone knows that I am working for the benefit of the team and the national side.”.
Rumours, Hassan said, have been circulating beyond just player focus. “Rumours are being spread about stars, about players, about teams. But Salah is someone who is very disciplined,” he added. “He trains with us. He’s the first player that would also say yes to my decisions as a technical director. So I think he will be very positive tomorrow.”.
New Zealand arrive with their own message locked in: treat Salah like what he is. “Salah is a world-class player. He’s a threat,” said New Zealand’s manager Darren Bazeley ahead of their game against Egypt.
Bazeley pointed to the idea that Salah—like all major names—will be ready for a World Cup moment even if he didn’t have the exact game he wanted last time. “Maybe he probably hadn’t had the game that he wanted to in the last game. but he’s here to go and perform at a World Cup. ” Bazeley said. “So I’m sure he’ll be ready to go and put his mark on this World Cup.”.
For New Zealand, the stakes aren’t abstract. Neither New Zealand (P7 W0 D4 L3) nor Egypt (P7 W0 D3 L4) have ever won a World Cup game before. Bazeley made the point directly. “It would be massive for New Zealand to get that win,” he said. “It would be history. So that’s something this group of players have been talking about trying to do for three or four years now.”.
Those numbers hang over the match like a pressure system. With both teams still looking for a first-ever World Cup victory. Egypt’s attempt to keep their attack—and especially Salah—fully aligned becomes more than a football narrative. It turns into a question of whether their preparation is internal calm or externally amplified tension.
Tonight, at BC Place, the pitch will decide what’s true.
Other World Cup notes from the day also spilled across the same match calendar—Spain’s group schedule. Iran’s travel disruption. and the wider swirl of stories around the tournament—but for Egypt. the focus remains clear: Hassan insists there is no Salah rift. New Zealand are preparing as if the threat is real.
World Cup 2026 Egypt Mohamed Salah Hossam Hassan New Zealand Darren Bazeley BC Place Group G Hamza Abdelkarim Belgium match