The mystery over Egypt’s ‘next Salah’ and his international eligibility: why was his switch not registered like Volpato?
DALLAS, TEXAS — While Mohamed Salah has been announced to start for the Round of 32 clash, Egypt will need options off the bench should disaster strike and the superstar can’t go the distance.
One such option is Egyptian winger Haissem Hassan, who declared his international allegiance for The Pharaohs in March after an international tug of war with Tunisia, but the French born 24-year-old, who represented Les Bleus at under-17 and under-18 level does not appear on FIFA’s official portal that confirms switches of international allegiance.
Football360 understands that his change of association was confirmed and ratified in time for his World Cup selection, but there are still vagaries – which Football360 has sought clarity on from FIFA, which are still to be confirmed – over why he is absent from that same portal, which is the source of truth and official confirmation for Cristian Volpato’s switch from Italy to Australia confirmed on 29/5/2026, as well as Adrian Segecic’s move to Croatia, logged on 13/3/2026.
In 2026 alone, Australia has received four other switches of allegiance: Dylan Scicluna has registered from Malta, Tyra Bagiante from Tona, Marcus Ferkranus from USA and Matilda Dias Wadeitz from the Portuguese Federation.
When doing research on Egypt’s squad, there is no such confirmation on their portal. In fact, Hassan’s profile remains on the official France Football website.
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Australia’s 2026 confirmed changes of association, with Cristian Volpato the most recent.
Egypt’s 2026 confirmed changes of association, with nothing logged for 2026.
His absence can be put down to two factors.
One, a technical or clerical error on FIFA’s page, or due to the fact that it had been over five years since his last youth call-up.
The other reason, which Football360 looked into but is seemingly not the case, would mean that the application is still pending and so he is ineligible to play for Egypt yet.
Other reasons that do not apply include that a player could be blocked if they have played a competitive senior international match for another nation, which he hasn’t, or has no valid connection, which he has through his parents.
The Real Oviedo winger has not seen a minute of action yet but looms as a possible option for Hossam Hassan with Mohamed Salah’s fitness uncertainty. He did cause a brief social media storm, however, in the last match when he was summoned from the bench, only to be told to sit back down, and appeared to be unhappy with that change of plan.
Haissem Hassan!! 🥶🥶#LALIGAEASPORTS | #LALIGAHighlights pic.twitter.com/b57yLumU6G
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) August 30, 2025
He had been the centre of interest between France, where he was born and was part of their 2019 Under-17 World Cup squad, which came third; Egypt, where his father was born, and Tunisia, where his mother was born; he had previously rebuffed overtures to join the Olympic squad, waiting for the right senior call-up.
The winger was born in Bagnolet, France and worked his way up through Paris FC and LB Chateauroux before a Spanish path through Villarreal and Sporting de Gijon led him to his current club in Spain’s second division. Media reports in March suggested paperwork was completed with FIFA before his March call-up, where he made his debut in a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia before featuring in friendlies against Spain, Russia and Brazil.
According to an ESPN report in April, he is being touted as a “natural long-term successor” to Mohamed Salah, a “natural wideman, capable of cutting inside.”
Hossam Hassan, head coach of Egypt, speaks to the media during a press conference one day ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match between Egypt and IR Iran at Seattle Stadium. Photo: Soobum Im/Getty Images
His absence from the portal is of note because if a nation plays an ineligible player in a World Cup match, according to Article 55.1 of the [FIFA Disciplinary Code](1.2.3, 1.2.7), it would result in a forfeit. Carrying him in the squad alone is not enough to trigger this, but could lead to a fine.
According to the rules, an unlisted player on the change of allegiance portal must submit a formal application and be granted approval, at which point they will be added to the platform.
