Hundreds welcome Salah’s Egypt home after best World Cup run
El Alamein, Egypt: Hundreds of euphoric supporters welcomed home Egypt’s national football team on Friday after the country’s best-ever performance at the World Cup, which ended with a thrilling last-16 exit to Argentina. A sea of fans dressed in red, white and black filled the grounds outside the airport in El-Alamein, where the Pharaohs boarded an open-top bus for a parade through the coastal city. “We are very happy with the team,” supporter Mohamed Gehad told AFP at the airport where he had traveled to welcome the players. “Their spirit was high, and ours is high as we welcome them.” Supporters waved Egyptian flags and Palestinian flags in support of nearby Gaza, as well as a poster of coach Hossam Hossan draping both flags over himself during the tournament. Egypt achieved their first-ever World Cup win before later reaching the last 16 teams at the global spectacle for the first time after beating Australia on penalties. They were painstakingly close to achieving one of the tournament’s great upsets against Argentina, leading 2-0 with just minutes left to play before the defending champions staged an astonishing 3-2 comeback win. But fans remained in high spirits, dancing to the beat of drums, singing patriotic songs and wearing shirts bearing the name of team captain and former Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah. Others held handwritten banners reading: “You made us proud, men.” “They reached a stage they had never reached before and we are proud of them,” another fan Eyad Ahmed told AFP.