Hamza Abdelkarim finds himself at the center of a big controversy in Egypt. While he has just celebrated his 18th birthday and established himself as one of the great hopes of Egyptian football, the young FC Barcelona striker is, in fact, talking about him after the last gathering of the Pharaohs. Despite his first goal for Selection A scored a few days earlier against South Sudan, Abdelkarim once again started on the bench against South Africa this Sunday evening. A decision which raised many questions in his country.
As indicated by Sport this Monday morning, the situation took on another dimension after the match, lost 1-0 by Egypt. Images broadcast after the final whistle showed coach Hossam Hassan talking in a particularly animated manner with the young Barcelona player on the pitch. The sequence quickly sparked a reaction in Egypt, with some observers questioning the nature of this exchange and especially the manager’s management of the Abdelkarim case. At only 18 years old, the player already enjoys immense popularity and expectations are particularly high around the man who participated in the 2026 World Cup with the Pharaohs.
Maximum tension around Hamza Abdelkarim
“The team has no personality or charisma, apart from Muhannad Lashin, and it would have been better to include Hamza Abdulkarim in the starting XI and give him a bigger chance, especially knowing that it is a friendly match”confided Bashir El Tabei, former international and former Zamalek player. This controversy comes especially at a time when Abdelkarim begins to take on a new dimension. After being one of the revelations of Barça’s summer preparation, with four goals scored, the striker obtained his first official minutes with the Catalan first team. In September, the Blaugranas had also decided to extend his contract until 2030, proof of the confidence placed in him by Barcelona management.
His first goal with Egypt, scored against South Sudan after only a few minutes on the pitch, further reinforced the idea that he could quickly become an important part of the Pharaohs. It remains to be seen whether this episode will have consequences on the relationship between Abdelkarim and Hossam Hassan. On the Barça side, the young striker is obviously being closely monitored, while the Catalan club is banking heavily on his potential for the coming years. Despite his still limited playing time in La Liga, the profile of the Egyptian striker particularly appeals to Hansi Flick and Deco, who chose to keep him rather than loan him out this summer. The controversy in the selection therefore adds a new eventful page to the particularly dazzling start of the career of a player whose name is already starting to get a lot of talk, in Egypt as in Barcelona.
