Volgograd: Egyptians criticize choice of Grozny as team base

At the match in Volgograd, Egyptian fans actively supported their team, despite its unsuccessful performance at the FIFA World Cup-2018. The base in Grozny proved to be inconvenient for footballers; and the team's defeats can be related thereto, the Egyptian fans, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot", believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 25, after the match in Volgograd, the Egyptian national team finished its participation in the World Cup. The team lost to Saudi Arabia with the score of 1:2. For the time of the tournament, the Egyptian national team had decided to settle in Grozny; and they failed to win at least a point by losing all the three matches. According to journalists, the remoteness of Grozny from the cities where the team played its matches has affected the players' condition.

The fan named Khasbelnabi Mostafa Makhmud Djakhin, dressed in the costume of the pharaoh, drew the attention of local residents – he was surrounded with a request to get photographed.

He has acknowledged that the team's accommodation in Grozny was inconvenient for Egyptian footballers; although he did not directly associate this fact with the defeats.

The security measures introduced in Volgograd created no discomfort for the World Cup guests, said Khasan Abdelrakhman Shaaban Abdelkhalek, another Egyptian fan.

There are few Saudis in Volgograd; Egyptian fans are much more in number; and they are much more active, Evgeny Bystrov, a fan from Tambov, has noted.

There were no conflicts in the fan zone over the past week, said a volunteer.

The presence of noisy foreign guests in the city does not bring any discomfort to local residents, said Elena Sviridova, a Volgograd resident.