Sisi receives national team after World Cup qualification

CAIRO – 9 October 2017: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi received Monday the Egyptian football national team players and technical staff members at the Ittihadiya Palace, after they qualified for the World Cup 2018.

On Sunday, Egypt's capital crackled with fireworks and blared with horns as the soccer-crazy country reached the World Cup for the first time in 28 years as rare scenes of joy took hold of city blocks celebrating a 2-1 victory over Congo.

Winger Mohamed Salah scored twice, securing victory with a last-gasp penalty to put Egypt four points clear with one match left in their African group E qualifying campaign.
President Sisi congratulated the Egyptian people after the match as tireless fans draped in flags turned the streets into an impromptu parade of red, white and black. After the match, the president announced a reward of L.E. 1.5 million ($84.9 thousand) for each player of the national team.

The win clinched Egypt a long-awaited spot in Russia for the 2018 World Cup finals, where the Arab world's most populous country will compete on football's ultimate stage for the first time since Italy in 1990.