The Pyramids FC attacker played a decisive role in Egypt's historic 3-1 victory over New Zealand on Sunday, scoring once and creating another as the Pharaohs moved closer to a place in the knockout rounds.
For Zico, who had spent much of the build-up to the tournament on the fringes of the national setup, the moment represented a remarkable turnaround.
"From the first minute until now, Hossam Hassan has given us confidence," Zico told reporters after the match, as quoted by Flashscore.
The forward admitted he had not anticipated being involved at the World Cup at all.
"I was far away from the national team and honestly wasn't expecting it. I was preparing to go on vacation on the north coast when suddenly I got the call."
Rather than arriving as one of Egypt's headline names, Zico has emerged as one of the tournament’s early revelations.
Named after Brazilian football legend Zico, the versatile attacker has justified his coach’s belief with a series of impactful performances. He had already shown promising form in pre-World Cup friendlies against Russia and Brazil before carrying that momentum onto football’s biggest stage.
Against New Zealand in Vancouver, he opened the scoring before producing a clever back-heel assist for Mohamed Salah inside the penalty area.
The result secured Egypt's first-ever World Cup victory and placed them in a strong position in Group G ahead of their final group-stage encounter against Iran.
Despite the growing optimism surrounding the team, Zico insisted the squad remains grounded.
"We still haven’t achieved anything yet. Hopefully we can go even further. We are the strongest team in Africa. Why shouldn’t we go as far as possible in this tournament?" he concluded.
