Egypt name preliminary 27-man squad for FIFA 2026 World Cup

Mohamed Salah will captain the side as Nantes forward Mostafa Mohamed misses out, while there is a place for 18-year-old Barcelona striker Hamza Abdelkarim.

Egypt face Belgium, New Zealand, Iran at the global showpiece that kicks off in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June.

First up is a friendly with Russia on May 28, whereafter one player will need to be cut from the squad for their final roster.

The Pharaohs complete their preparations with a final friendly against Brazil on June 6.

Full Egypt squad:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed ⁠El Shenawy (Al Ahly), Mostafa Shobeir (Al Ahly), El Mahdi ⁠Soliman (Zamalek), Mohamed Alaa (El Gouna)

Defenders: Mohamed Hany (Al Ahly), Tarek Alaa (Zed), Hamdy Fathy (Al Wakrah), Rami Rabia (Al Ain), Yasser Ibrahim (Al Ahly), Hossam Abdelmaguid (Zamalek), Mohamed Abdelmonemn (Nice), Ahmed Fatouh (Zamalek), Karim Hafez (Pyramids)

Midfielders: Marwan Ateya (Al Ahly), Mohanad ‌Lasheen (Pyramids), Nabil Emad (Al Najma), Mahmoud Saber (Zed), Ahmed Zizo (Al Ahly), Emam Ashour (Al Ahly), Mostafa Ziko (Pyramids), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Al Ahly), Ibrahim Adel (Nordsjaelland), Haissem Hassan (Real Ovideo)

Forwards: Omar Marmoush (Manchester ‌City), ‌Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Aqtay Abdallah (Enppi), Hamza Abdelkarim (Barcelona U19) (Reporting by Mohamed Yossry in Cairo, additional reporting by Ahmed El Khashab and Bassem Zahran, editing by Nick Mulvenney and Peter Rutherford)