Namely, he was playing for Genoa at the time, and his national team dilemma was between Italy or Egypt, since his father Sabri is Egyptian and his mother Lucy is Italian. In the end, he chose Italy, and these days many are commenting on and mocking his decision because his national team career passed without playing a single minute in World Cups. He was at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but did not get any minutes then, while last week's elimination by Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica means Italy will miss the World Cup for the third time in a row. 0 WORLD CUPS ❌ Stephan El Shaarawy was once one of the biggest prospects in the world. In 2012, he chose to represent Italy over Egypt, despite being eligible for both. He never played a single minute in a World Cup: 2014 → 0 minutes 2018 → Did not qualify 2022 → Did not… pic.twitter.com/al2O10VRYS The then coach Roberto Mancini gave preference to other forwards such as Lorenzo Insigne, Domenico Berardi, Federico Chiesa, Ciro Immobile, Andrea Belotti, and Giacomo Raspadori. El Shaarawy watched the Euro victory on small screens, while in the meantime Egypt participated in the 2018 Russia World Cup and is now counting down to the start of the World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the USA.