Hossam Hassan will not coach Iraq, country's football authorities rule it out

Two days ago, Hossam Hassan lost his job as Egypt coach following a dispute with his former wife. Since then, speculation has been swirling in football circles about his next destination.

Reports even spread through the media that Hossam was set to become the coach of Iraq. The Iraq Football Association has now spoken out on the matter.

Although talk began of appointing him as Iraq coach after he left the Egypt job, the country's football authorities have directly rejected the idea.

Ahmed Al-Musawi, a member of the Iraq Football Association, said there had been no discussion with Hossam Hassan about the coaching job. The matter had not even come up for discussion within the organisation.

Al-Musawi told Modern MTI, "Hossam Hassan did not reject any offer to become coach of the Iraq national team, because no such offer was made to him. There has been no discussion between the Iraq Football Association and Hossam Hassan."

He added, "There has been no discussion from our side about appointing Hossam Hassan. All the reports spreading on this are baseless."

With that, the speculation appears to be over for now. The talk of him taking charge of a foreign national team after leaving Egypt has been shot down by the Iraq Football Association's statement.

Hossam Hassan took charge of the Egypt national team in February 2024. Under him, Egypt qualified for the 2026 World Cup.

The team also achieved the feat of reaching the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time. Last September, Egypt extended his contract until 2030. But within weeks, his chapter came to an end. Ali Maher has been given charge of the team in his place.

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