The Egyptian Football Association has announced a 27-player provisional squad for the upcoming 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup. Captained by talismanic forward Mohamed Salah, the selection features a maiden international call-up for teenage striker Hamza Abdelkarim, who plays for Barcelona’s Under-19 team. Conversely, head coach Hossam Hassan has chosen to exclude FC Nantes forward Mostafa Mohamed from the line-up.
In the attacking third, Salah will be partnered by Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush. Coach Hassan intends to trim the roster by exactly one player following Egypt’s final home friendly match against Russia, scheduled for 28 May 2026 in the capital city of Cairo. This final omission will reduce the travelling squad to the mandatory 26-man limit enforced by FIFA.
Position-by-Position Provisional Roster
The 27 athletes selected to represent Egypt in the preparatory phase of the tournament are structured by playing department in the table below:
| Position | Player Names |
| Goalkeepers | Mohamed El Shenawy, Mostafa Shobeir, El Mahdi Soliman, Mohamed Awad |
| Defenders | Mohamed Hany, Tarek Alaa, Hamdi Fathi, Ramy Rabia, Yasser Ibrahim, Hossam Abdelmaguid, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Ahmed Fatouh, Karim Hafez |
| Midfielders | Marwan Attia, Mohanad Lasheen, Nabil Emad, Mahmoud Saber, Ahmed Zizo, Emam Ashour, Mostafa Ziko, Mahmoud Trezeguet, Ibrahim Adel, Haïssem Hassan |
| Forwards | Omar Marmoush, Mohamed Salah, Aktai Abdallah, Hamza Abdelkarim |
Selection Logic and Recent Form
The omission of Mostafa Mohamed follows a highly difficult club season in French domestic football. The forward managed only four goals across 24 appearances for FC Nantes, a campaign that ultimately saw the club relegated from Ligue 1. Conversely, the inclusion of the young Hamza Abdelkarim comes on the back of impressive goalscoring form for the Barcelona youth setup, solidifying his reputation as one of Egypt’s most promising emerging talents.
World Cup Preparation and Tournament Schedule
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to run from 11 June to 19 July 2026, hosted jointly across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Following their exhibition game against Russia in Cairo, Egypt will travel to Cleveland to play a high-profile international friendly against Brazil on 6 June 2026.
Egypt will officially open their World Cup group stage campaign in Seattle. The chronological order of their group stage matches is detailed below:
15 June 2026: Egypt vs Belgium (Seattle)
21 June 2026: Egypt vs New Zealand (Vancouver)
26 June 2026: Egypt vs Iran (Seattle)
