Egypt has unveiled a 27-man provisional squad under the captaincy of Mohamed Salah for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. The squad announcement generated considerable attention following the debut call-up of teenage forward Hamza Abdelkarim, who currently plays for Barcelona’s Under-19 team. Conversely, head coach Hossam Hassan decided to omit FC Nantes forward Mostafa Mohamed from the selection.
In the attacking line, captain Salah will be supported by Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush. Head coach Hassan plans to remove one player from the current list following their final home warm-up fixture against Russia on 28 May 2026 in Cairo. This standard reduction will formalise the definitive 26-man roster required under FIFA tournament regulations.
Provisional 27-Man Squad Breakdown
The list of selected players across the respective playing departments is organized in the table below:
| Position | Player Roster |
| 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 |
Attacking Changes and Performance Context
The decision to exclude Mostafa Mohamed follows a highly challenging club season in France. The forward managed to score only four goals across 24 matches for FC Nantes, a campaign that culminated in the club’s relegation from French Ligue 1. In contrast, the inclusion of the young Hamza Abdelkarim comes on the back of notable goalscoring form for the Barcelona youth academy, establishing him as a highly rated prospect within Egyptian football.
Schedule of Friendly Matches and Group Fixtures
The 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup will be held across the United States, Canada, and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026. Following their match against Russia in late May, the Egyptian team will travel to Cleveland to play a friendly international against Brazil on 6 June 2026. Egypt will begin their official group stage tournament campaign on 15 June in Seattle.
The chronological order of Egypt’s Group Stage fixtures is outlined below:
15 June 2026: Egypt vs Belgium (Seattle)
21 June 2026: Egypt vs New Zealand (Vancouver)
26 June 2026: Egypt vs Iran (Seattle)