Egypt coach offers support for Iranian team before crucial World Cup match 

Seattle, US – Egypt’s head coach Hossam Hassan says all teams at the FIFA World Cup must be treated equally amid criticism that Iran has faced unfair scheduling and travel restrictions from tournament cohosts the United States.

Asked by Al Jazeera if he had a message for the Iranian team, Hassan said on Thursday that he has “respect [for] all of the teams that have a right to be at the World Cup”.

All teams have the right to equal treatment, “because FIFA seeks respect and fair play”, he added during a news conference ahead of a decisive fixture against Iran in the final group-stage game on Friday.

“Respect and fair play mean everyone should respect everyone, and for there to be fairness between everyone. That’s why I wish luck to all of us,” Hassan said. “The Iranian team is one of the teams I respect very much.”

While Hassan stopped short of explicitly criticising the US hosts, his comments represent a rare show of support for Iran from a fellow team in the tournament.

Iran based their training camp in Mexico while playing all of their matches on the US West Coast. Iranian players and staff were only allowed into the US one day before their matches and ordered to leave the country almost immediately after play ended.

US authorities have loosened the restrictions ahead of Iran’s match against Egypt in Seattle, allowing Team Melli to arrive in the city one day earlier.

Iran’s manager Amir Ghalenoei reiterated on Thursday that US travel policies have affected the fitness and preparations of his squad.

“We are going to set all of that aside. We are going to overcome all of these challenges,” he told reporters.

Asked by Al Jazeera about being able to arrive in Seattle two days before the match, Ghalenoei said: “This was our right, which we should have had in the two previous games, but they deprived us of the right to arrive on time.”

Both Ghalenoei and Hassan expressed respect for each other’s teams at separate news conferences on Thursday.

“We are very happy there are two teams playing together who have ancient civilisations and are proud of their countries,” Ghalenoei said.

He stressed that his team will not solely focus on stopping Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, saying the Pharaohs have effective players across the field.

“We believe that the Egyptian team is a highly organised, well-planned team. In addition to Salah, they have many great and known players,” Ghalenoei said.

Egypt comes into the game at the top of the group with four points. A draw will be enough for them to qualify.

Iran are in second with two points. Belgium also has two, and New Zealand has one.

Although a draw may be enough for Egypt to qualify, Hassan said he knows how to pursue victory regardless of calculations.

Egypt had scored its first-ever World Cup victory, a 3-1 win against New Zealand, on Monday, sparking wild celebrations among Egyptians.

“We want to make you happy. You deserve all the joy we saw and heard about in Egypt,” Hassan said in a message to Egyptian fans.”