The open-top bus edged through a sea of red, white and black outside El Alamein airport on Friday as Egypt’s national team returned from the 2026 World Cup to a reception that blended euphoria with lingering grievance. Supporters waved Egyptian and Palestinian flags, held aloft posters of coach Hossam Hassan draping both banners over his shoulders, and brandished handwritten signs reading “You made us proud, men.” The players, led by captain Mohamed Salah, were paraded through the coastal city hours after a 12-hour flight from Atlanta, with a formal meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi scheduled for the following day.

Egypt’s campaign had rewritten the country’s football history. The Pharaohs secured their first-ever World Cup victory in the group stage, then edged Australia on penalties to reach the last 16 for the first time. In that knockout tie, they built a 2-0 lead against Argentina and held it until the 79th minute, before the defending champions scored three times to snatch a 3-2 win. The late collapse did little to dampen the homecoming; fans danced to drums, sang patriotic songs, and wore shirts bearing Salah’s name, while the forward posted on social media that he would do “everything in my power to ensure this is a new beginning for Egyptian football on the international stage.”

The aftermath of the Argentina defeat, however, was marked by official protest. The Egyptian Football Association lodged a complaint with FIFA over the officiating, with Hassan accusing the refereeing team of injustice. FIFA’s refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina rejected what he called “unfounded allegations,” but the grievance resonated among supporters, some of whom, according to Argentine media reports, turned Argentina shirts inside out as a gesture of repudiation. Hassan had already drawn attention during the tournament for waving a Palestinian flag after the Australia victory and dedicating the win to the Palestinian people, a stance that earned praise in Gaza, where thousands watched Egypt’s matches in makeshift cafes built from salvaged materials.

Viewed from Cairo, the team’s run was framed as a unifying moment. The sports minister and the head of the clubs’ federation led the official welcoming delegation, and al-Sisi thanked the squad for its “honourable performance.” In Gaza, Hassan’s pre-match assertion that the suffering of Palestinians was a “shame on the world” and his call for football to do more amplified the political resonance of the campaign. The next concrete step for Egyptian football will be the federation’s pursuit of its complaint, while the players’ audience with the president on Saturday is expected to cement the squad’s elevated status in the national narrative.