Egypt at the FIFA World Cup 2026

History

Egypt have appeared at the FIFA World Cup four times: 1934, 1990, 2018, and 2026. In 1934 they became the first African and Arab nation to participate in the World Cup, losing 4-2 to Hungary in the round of 16 - their best-ever finish. When they returned in 1990 after a 56-year absence, they drew with the Netherlands and Ireland but were eliminated in the group stage. At Russia 2018, Mohamed Salah scored their first World Cup goal in 28 years, yet they again exited at the group phase. Egypt have never won the World Cup, but they are Africa's most decorated nation in continental football, holding a record seven Africa Cup of Nations titles (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010).

Qualification

Egypt qualified for the 2026 World Cup by topping CAF Group A in the third round of African qualification, going unbeaten across all 10 matches with 8 wins and 2 draws, accumulating 26 points and conceding only 2 goals. Their group included Uganda, Ghana, and Congo. Captain Mohamed Salah was the standout performer, scoring 9 goals in the campaign to become the all-time top scorer in CAF World Cup qualification with 20 goals in total. Coach Hossam Hassan, Egypt's all-time leading scorer with 69 international goals, became the first person to take Egypt to a World Cup as both a player (1990) and as a head coach.

Preparation

Egypt's pre-tournament training camp opened on May 21, 2026, at the National Teams Centre in Cairo. Coach Hossam Hassan named a 27-man preliminary squad headlined by captain Mohamed Salah, then confirmed the final 26-man list on May 30 after the home friendly against Russia, dropping ENPPI forward Aqtay Abdallah. Egypt beat Russia 1-0 at Cairo International Stadium on May 28 (Mostafa Ziko, 65') in their final home warm-up; Salah, who joined camp late, did not play, and Mohamed Abdelmonem returned from injury. A high-profile test against Brazil follows on June 6 at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio (the 'Road to 26' series), described as their primary benchmark before the tournament. On May 26, 2026, Egypt officially confirmed Spokane, Washington, and Gonzaga University as their World Cup base camp: the squad will train at Gonzaga's Luger Field and stay at the Northern Quest Resort and Casino. Egypt open their Group G campaign against Belgium on June 15 in Seattle.

Latest news

Egypt confirm final 26-man World Cup squad; Aqtay Abdallah the only cut

· squad

Coach Hossam Hassan finalised Egypt's 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, trimming his 21 May preliminary list of 27. ENPPI forward Aqtay Abdallah, who had earned his first senior call-up, was the only player left out before the team's departure for the United States. Mohamed Salah captains the side.

Egypt beat Russia 1-0 in final home friendly before World Cup

· matches

Egypt edged Russia 1-0 in their last home warm-up at Cairo International Stadium, with Mostafa Ziko heading home in the 65th minute from a Mohamed Hany cross. Mohamed Salah did not feature, having joined camp late, and Mohamed Abdelmonem returned from injury. Hossam Hassan used the game as a final squad assessment.

Squad

PlayerPositionClub
Mohamed El ShenawyGKAl Ahly
Mostafa ShobeirGKAl Ahly
El Mahdi SolimanGKZamalek
Mohamed AlaaGKEl Gouna
Mohamed HanyDFAl Ahly
Tarek AlaaDFZED FC
Hamdi FathiDFAl Wakrah
Rami RabiaDFAl Ain
Yasser IbrahimDFAl Ahly
Hossam AbdelmaguidDFZamalek
Mohamed AbdelmonemDFOGC Nice
Ahmed FattouhDFZamalek
Karim HafezDFPyramids FC
Marwan AttiaMFAl Ahly
Mohanad LasheenMFPyramids FC
Nabil Emad DongaMFAl Najma
Mahmoud SaberMFZED FC
Ahmed ZizoMFAl Ahly
Emam AshourMFAl Ahly
Mostafa ZikoMFPyramids FC
Mahmoud TrezeguetMFAl Ahly
Ibrahim AdelMFNordsjaelland
Haissem HassanMFReal Oviedo
Mohamed SalahFWLiverpool
Omar MarmoushFWManchester City
Hamza AbdelkarimFWBarcelona B

Recent results

  • 2023-11-16 — EGY 6-0 DJI (qualification)
  • 2023-11-19 — SLE 0-2 EGY (qualification)
  • 2024-01-07 — EGY 2-0 TAN (friendly)
  • 2024-06-06 — EGY 2-1 BFA (qualification)
  • 2024-06-10 — GNB 1-1 EGY (qualification)
  • 2025-03-21 — ETH 0-2 EGY (qualification)
  • 2025-03-25 — EGY 1-0 SLE (qualification)
  • 2025-09-05 — EGY 2-0 ETH (qualification)
  • 2025-09-09 — BFA 0-0 EGY (qualification)
  • 2025-10-08 — DJI 0-3 EGY (qualification)
  • 2025-10-12 — EGY 1-0 GNB (qualification)
  • 2026-03-27 — KSA 0-4 EGY (friendly)
  • 2026-03-31 — ESP 0-0 EGY (friendly)

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