Everyone and his / her semi-literate brother-in-law took to the airwaves last night to bemoan Egypt’s miserable 2-1 loss against Saudi yesterday at the 2018 Fifa World Cup. Among them: a host of sports critics including Yasser Ayoub (watch, runtime: 40:25) and Hassan El Mestikawy (watch, runtime: 3:51), as well as former football stars Wael El Kabani (watch, runtime: 23:22) and Hossam Hassan (watch, runtime: 1:49).

Is Cuper getting axed? Yahduth fi Misr’s Sherif Amer claimed that the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) made a formal statement announcing its intention to terminate national team coach Hector Cuper’s contract, though we’ve seen no evidence of that statement anywhere else. Amer also said that Cuper would hold a press conference once he arrives from Russia at which he will respond to criticism of the team’s performance (watch, runtime: 1:40).

But is he really to blame? Former footballer Hany El Okaby told Al Hayah fi Misr’s Kamel Madi that Egypt lost every game it played in the World Cup due to bad planning (watch, runtime: 5:30), while EFA member Khalid Latif pinned a share of the responsibility on the association, adding that he believes that Cuper’s contract would be dropped once it expires. He jumped to the team’s defense, however, telling Masaa DMC’s Eman El Hosary that they at least managed to qualify for the tournament (watch, runtime: 6:18).

The EFA was unable to shield team players from the strain of public pressure and expectation, sports critic Ihab El Khatib told El Hosary. He said that Mo Salah especially was under an immense amount of pressure (watch, runtime: 8:31). El Khatib also phoned into Hona Al Asema (watch, runtime: 6:17).

The sports community also mourned the death of former Zamalek club star Abdel Rehim Mohamed yesterday, who succumbed to a heart attack just before he was due on air to analyze the match (watch, runtime: 4:06).

Liverpool University is coming to Egypt: Higher Education Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar signed and MoU with Liverpool University yesterday that should see the school establish a local campus, he told Riham Ibrahim, who’s filling on for Lamees Al Hadidi on Hona Al Asema while she vacations until September (watch, runtime: 7:07). Elsewedy Electric CEO Ahmed El Sewedy phoned in to stress the need for private sector investment in education, adding he is working on a new education-geared project in the new administrative capital (watch, runtime: 4:16).

Meanwhile, Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) boss Rady Abdel Moty made his second on-screen appearance this week, this time on Hona Al Asema, as the government continues to reassure consumers it won’t let prices get out of control after recent fuel price hikes. Abdel Moty discussed ways customers can report violations such as price gouging and reassured viewers that the CPA is keeping a close eye on the market (watch, runtime: 17:17).