Minister of National Policy, External Relations, Press and Information of the Chechen Republic, Dzhambulat Umarov, said Thursday that the Egyptian national football team, who will be based in Chechnya during the World Cup, had "good impressions" of the republic.
"[They have] good impressions of the Chechen Republic. The region has matched all the expectations, from cultural and religious issues to everyday issues that all the players and the staff of the Egyptian national football team are happy with," Umarov said at a press conference.
He added that the team seemed to have been biased against the republic, but the attitude changed "as soon as the team started to come off the plane."
Umarov also said that Egypt star striker Mohamed Salah was "stunned" by the hospitality and the attention of the fans, especially the younger ones.
The World Cup will get underway tonight, with the final set to be played on July 15. The matches will take place at 12 stadiums across 11 cities. Egypt will play Uruguay in Yekaterinburg on Friday, before also facing hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia in their other two Group A matches.
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