{"id":8867,"date":"2026-01-16T15:18:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=8867"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:18:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:18:47","slug":"egypts-afcon-pain-to-spur-world-cup-bid-as-nigeria-bronze-medal-game-looms-africa-cup-of-nations-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=8867","title":{"rendered":"Egypt\u2019s AFCON pain to spur World Cup bid as Nigeria bronze medal game looms | Africa Cup of Nations News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Record-winners Egypt were one of favourites to add AFCON 2025 to their seven titles but focus turns to World Cup.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--multiple-avatars\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\" sizes=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/PXL_20210627_155635971-1-1696493612.jpg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 96px, 96px\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 16 Jan 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">16 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Egypt \u200cmight be disappointed with their failure to reach the Africa Cup of \u200dNations final but coach \u200dHossam Hassan says it has been a good experience ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 later this year.<\/p>\n<p>Egypt lost in Wednesday\u2019s semifinal to Senegal in Tangier but on Saturday will play Nigeria for the \u2060bronze medal at the tournament in Morocco.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cIt has been very good preparation for \u200bus, we\u2019ve tried several systems of play throughout the tournament and \u200dplayed against different types of opponents,\u201d Hassan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe came close to the final but that\u2019s football,\u201d he said of the 1-0 loss to Senegal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOverall, I\u2019m satisfied with all that happened and \u200dwhat we achieved. \u2060We have a good team. We were away from home and did not have a lot of supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The match against Nigeria would be another opportunity to prepare for the World Cup, he added.<\/p>\n<p>Egypt play in Group G with Belgium first up in Seattle on June 15, New Zealand in Vancouver on June 21 and Iran on June 26 back in Seattle.<\/p>\n<p>Hassan \u200bsaid Egypt might have fallen short because of a \u200clack of players at top clubs in Europe, in contrast to the two finalists, Morocco and Senegal, whose squads are filled with players at top European teams.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlayers based in Europe gain better tactical \u200cacumen and become physically much stronger, and we need that added value to make us better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Egypt\u2019s 28-man squad \u200chad only three players based in Europe \u2013 captain \u2060Mohamed Salah from Liverpool, Omar Marmoush from Manchester City and Mostafa Mohamed from Nantes in Ligue 1.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think [the Nigeria] game gives us a chance to continue preparations, but we always want to win. Egypt \u200calways plays to win, we are a team who have won seven Cup of Nations in the past,\u201d Hassan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will evaluate after the competition where we \u200dneed to improve. We will study the positive points in order to be much better in both defence and attack,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Record-winners Egypt were one of favourites to add AFCON 2025 to their seven titles but focus turns to World Cup. Published On 16 Jan 202616 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Egypt \u200cmight be disappointed with their failure to reach the Africa Cup of \u200dNations final but coach \u200dHossam Hassan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}