Before Egypt’s next World Cup assignment, one of the country’s best-known nicknames is getting a fresh origin story. Badr Ragab said he was the one who first called Mahmoud Hassan Trézéguet, linking the forward to David Trézéguet because of the way he looked and played.
Ragab said he noticed the resemblance from Hassan’s first days, especially in the air and in the way he finished chances. The nickname stuck, and it has followed Mahmoud Hassan into the national team, where he is one of the names Hossam Hassan has taken to the 2026 World Cup along with Nabil Emad Dunga and Mostafa Zaki Abdelraouf.
That is why the search around Trezeguet Egypt matters now. Egypt are led by Mohamed Salah, who is 34 years old, and the squad is being read through the lens of familiar names and the stories behind them. The nicknames have become part of how fans recognize the team, with other players carrying labels such as Karim Nedved and David Beckham, even though the famous football figures they reference do not officially share those surnames in their own names.
There is a second, quieter story inside that pattern. Mostafa Zaki Abdelraouf’s family says Ziko came from the same logic of resemblance and habit, only this time it started with his brother, who had already been called Zico while playing professionally. When Mostafa began playing, coaches shortened it further and called him “little Zico,” a name that followed him into the senior setup. The nickname now sits beside Trézéguet and Dunga as part of the squad’s shorthand, but it also shows how these labels were passed along by coaches and teammates long before they became public talking points.
Ragab’s explanation answers the biggest part of the nickname puzzle, but not all of it. He said he never imagined Trézéguet would stay with Hassan for so long, and the same kind of memory has attached itself to the other nicknames in the squad. Egypt are set to face New Zealand for Matchday 2 at the 2026 World Cup, and the next chapter for this team will not be about where those names came from. It will be about whether the players carrying them can make them matter again.
