World Cup Rush: El Said joins Finnish side to increase world cup appearance chances

Another Pharaohs striker has joined a Finnish in bid to get some time so they could be available for selection into Hector Cuper’s World Cup squad. Al Ahly forward, Abdallah El-Said has joined Kuopion Palloseura on a two-month loan before his permanent move to Saudi club Al Ahly Jeddah on a two-year deal, come next season.

A Red Devils official, Adly Al Qaie confirmed that the 32-year-old has been allowed to go so as to prove his fitness for World Cup finals commencing on the 14th of June this year. El-Said joins Al Ahly teammate  Amr Gamal who recently left the South African side, Bidvest Wits to complete his loan spell at Helsinki in Finland with the bid to impress for a spot in the Pharaohs World Cup squad.

“Abdallah is a big name and very high-level player, we are happy to have him here. We wish Abdallah good luck and wait for him on the field and believe he will be a key player at the World Cup.”

— KuPS Sporting Director, Konstantin Shipulin

Egypt: Striker surplus to South Africa’s Bidvest Wits, finds favor in Europe

Egyptian forward Amr Gamal who was on loan from Al Ahly was released last week by Bidvest Wits. Gamal has joined the Finnish champions, HJK Helsinki, who have described his arrival as welcome development.

“Amr Gamal is a clever striker. The competition is becoming very tough and is developing. We want to have a competitive, energetic and offensive squad through the spring and summer.” - Juho Rantala, Helsinki’s Director of Football

Gamal will be keen to use this loan spell as a pedestal to bounce back and make it to the Pharaohs’ squad for Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup finals. It is not every day when you get to hear about a player not winging it in Africa, getting warm welcomes in Europe. It’s perhaps a sign that the quality of football in the continent’s domestic leagues may be improving at a rate faster than we realize.