Egypt coach backs Hamza Abdelkarim for Barcelona success after debut international goal: ‘Will become even better’ | OneFootball

Hamza Abdelkarim’s rapid rise at Barcelona and with Egypt has been rather unexpected, with the player quickly progressing through the ranks.

Having joined the Catalan club in January on loan, he spent the half-season with the youth team before making the jump to first-team football during pre-season.

His quality and potential have been backed by Egypt coach Hossam Hassan after his debut goal for his nation.

As quoted by SPORT, Hassan was delighted after Hamza scored against South Sudan, becoming the third-youngest player in Egypt’s history to score for the senior national team.

Hassan takes pride in Hamza’s Barcelona breakthrough

The coach believes his decision to trust the 18-year-old has also helped accelerate his development at Barça.

“It wasn’t easy to choose Hamza for the Egyptian national team this year because he wasn’t playing for Barcelona’s first team,” Hassan said.

“Thank God, after joining the national team, people at his club saw him and he was promoted to the first team, where he was able to play.”

Hassan believes Egypt now have a responsibility to continue helping Hamza develop.

“This is a source of pride for us, for Africa, for the Arab world and for Egyptian football, to have a player who plays for Barcelona,” he said.

“Thank God, we have played an important role in this, and that is why we insisted that he stay here, develop gradually and gain experience with his teammates.”

Hamza will prove himself at Barcelona

Hassan’s confidence in the striker is clear.

“I have confidence in him, and the fact that I selected him and took him to the World Cup means that, God willing, he will become even better and prove himself at Barcelona,” he said.

The challenge is now turning the promise into performances for Barça. He has received only limited first-team minutes and has not been playing regularly for Barça’s reserve side either.

Hamza has a huge ceiling at Barcelona. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

However, the club have a clear development plan and expect him to feature in around 10 to 15 first-team matches this season.

Barça must manage Hamza carefully

Barcelona do not need to rush an 18-year-old centre-forward simply because he has started making an impact internationally.

At the same time, training with elite players alone cannot replace competitive minutes indefinitely.

The teenager has already shown during pre-season that he knows where the back of the net is and is ready to play at this level for Barça.

His goal for Egypt should give him huge confidence as he hopes to return to club football and force his way into contention for minutes.

It remains to be seen how Hansi Flick handles the teenager’s development and how many minutes Hamza receives in the coming season.