Salah leads Egypt at the World Cup, with the final list also bringing a major surprise
According to data available on June 1, 2026, Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has finalized the national team squad for the 2026 World Cup, and the most important news for Egyptian football is that the team will once again be led by Mohamed Salah. According to the announcement by the Egyptian Football Association, the final list contains 26 players, the number permitted for the final squad registration of national teams for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. This also confirmed that the preliminary list, which initially contained 27 names, had been reduced by one player ahead of the final stage of preparations. Egypt will play in Group G at the tournament, alongside Belgium, New Zealand and Iran, so Hassan’s decision on the attacking part of the team will be under particular scrutiny from the first round.
The omission of Mostafa Mohamed drew the most attention. The Nantes striker had often been part of the national-team setup in previous years and participated in the qualifying campaign. Reuters, in a report carried by Al Jazeera, described his exclusion as a significant move because he is a striker with experience in European football and an important role in earlier Egyptian plans. Hassan instead opted for a different attacking structure, in which, alongside Salah and Omar Marmoush, younger profiles were also given a place. The most prominent new name is 18-year-old Hamza Abdelkarim, whom international reports identify as a member of Barcelona’s youth structure, and his inclusion in the squad is interpreted as a choice aimed at speed, potential and a change of rhythm in the closing stages of matches.
From the preliminary 27 to the final 26 names
According to FIFA data, on May 20, 2026, Hassan announced a preliminary list of 27 players, which included Salah, Marmoush, Mohamed El Shenawy and a number of players from the Egyptian league. The Egyptian Football Association then published the final list of 26 internationals on May 30 and stated that Aqtay Abdallah had been dropped from the squad. This resolved the last formal uncertainty about the squad that will travel to the tournament, while the coach kept four goalkeepers, a broad defensive line and a midfield with several players capable of covering different roles. Such a structure shows that Hassan wants to have more solutions for matches that will be played in different conditions, across great distances and against opponents with very different styles.
The goalkeeper line includes Mohamed El Shenawy, Mostafa Shobeir, El Mahdi Soliman and Mohamed Alaa. The defense is made up of Mohamed Hany, Tarek Alaa, Hamdy Fathy, Rami Rabia, Yasser Ibrahim, Hossam Abdelmaguid, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Ahmed Fatouh and Karim Hafez. In midfield are Marwan Ateya, Mohanad Lasheen, Nabil Emad, Mahmoud Saber, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Emam Ashour, Mostafa Abdel Raouf Ziko, Mahmoud Trezeguet, Ibrahim Adel, Haissem Hassan and Mohamed Salah, while Omar Marmoush and Hamza Abdelkarim have been registered for the attacking positions. In the association’s official announcement, Salah is listed among the midfielders, but his role for the national team remains predominantly offensive, with great freedom in the final phase of attacks.
The final list also confirms a strong reliance on domestic football, especially on players from Al Ahly and Zamalek, but also on several important international names. Salah enters the tournament as the national team’s biggest star and the player around whom most of the attacking attention is naturally built. Marmoush brings additional quality in transition and finishing, while Trezeguet and Ibrahim Adel stand out as players who can connect the midfield and the wing. Hassan’s selection is therefore not just a list of the best-known players, but also an attempt to find a balance between experience, physical readiness and tactical flexibility.
Mostafa Mohamed left out of the squad
The absence of Mostafa Mohamed resonated especially strongly because Egypt has traditionally attached great importance at major tournaments to classic strikers who can hold the ball and play with their backs to goal. According to French Ligue 1 data, Mostafa Mohamed scored four league goals for Nantes in the 2025/26 season, while the French club finished the season in the relegation zone. Reuters stated that his club performance was one of the elements of the broader context, although the coach did not explain the decision in detail in publicly available announcements. For that reason, the decision can be interpreted both as a sporting assessment of form and as a sign that Hassan wants a different profile of striker for the group matches.
Mostafa Mohamed had previously given Egypt an option for more direct play and danger in the penalty area, but the final list indicates that the coaching staff gave preference to more mobile and faster solutions. In such a framework, Salah and Marmoush become key players for attacks into space, while Abdelkarim can serve as an additional option to change the dynamics. Egypt will play in the group against Belgium, a team that traditionally has great individual potential, then against New Zealand, which relies on discipline and physical organization, and against Iran, a national team accustomed to tough tournament matches. For such a schedule, Hassan is clearly looking for a squad that can respond to several scenarios, from matches with less possession to periods in which Egypt will have to patiently attack a set defense.
The decision on Hamza Abdelkarim is at the same time the riskiest, but also the most intriguing part of the list. Al Jazeera stated that he is a young striker without senior international experience, while reports describe him as one of the most promising Egyptian offensive players. Including a teenager on the world stage often carries both sporting and psychological weight, because the coach must assess whether the young player can help immediately or whether his presence is primarily an investment in the future. In this case, the context is different because Egypt does not have the luxury of a long adjustment period; the group begins with a demanding match against Belgium, so every attacking option will have to be ready for a clearly defined role.
Salah as the face of the national team and a symbol of the return to the world stage
Mohamed Salah is once again the central figure of the Egyptian national team, not only because of his status in European football, but also because of the role he played in qualifying. After the end of Egypt’s qualifying path, FIFA highlighted that Egypt secured qualification with a 3:0 victory over Djibouti, with Salah scoring two goals. With that victory, Egypt secured first place in its African qualifying group and a return to the World Cup after missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar. For Egyptian football, this is its fourth appearance at World Cups, after the 1934, 1990 and 2018 editions.
Salah’s importance to Egypt is not only statistical. His presence changes the way opponents defend space, opens up more possibilities for his teammates and gives the national team experience from the biggest matches. In qualifying, according to FIFA and CAF, Egypt showed stability at both ends of the pitch, and Hassan’s coaching staff managed to build a team that did not depend solely on one individual quality. Still, at the World Cup the level of opposition will be significantly higher, and Salah will be expected to be the leader in moments when matches are decided by details.
Omar Marmoush should be the second key man in Egypt’s attack. His speed, ability to play between the lines and finishing give Egypt the possibility to threaten even when it does not have long spells of possession. In combination with Salah, he can create an attacking pair that will be most dangerous in transition, especially against teams that take risks with a high defensive line. Hassan will have to decide whether Egypt will play more cautiously in the toughest matches, with an emphasis on midfield compactness, or whether it will try to use the speed of its best players from the very beginning of the match.
Group G brings a demanding schedule
According to the 2026 World Cup schedule, Egypt will open the competition on June 15 against Belgium in Seattle. It plays its second match on June 21 against New Zealand in Vancouver, while it closes the group on June 26 against Iran, again in Seattle. Such a schedule immediately brings Egypt the most high-profile opponent in the group at the start, but also an opportunity to significantly change expectations ahead of the remaining two matches with a good result against Belgium. In its preview of Group G, FIFA stated that Belgium, Egypt, Iran and New Zealand are in the group, and the format of the expanded tournament further increases the importance of every point.
The 2026 World Cup is the first edition with 48 national teams, arranged into 12 groups of four teams. According to FIFA’s competition rules, the top two national teams from each group and the eight best third-placed teams advance to the knockout stage. This means that third place can also be enough to progress, but only with a sufficiently good points and goal-difference record compared with the other groups. For Egypt, a point against Belgium or Iran could therefore have considerable value, while the match with New Zealand could be crucial for ambitions of advancing.
Belgium enters the group as a European national team with great experience and a broad squad, although its generation has gradually changed in recent years. Iran is a regular participant at major tournaments with a solid competitive identity, while New Zealand enters the group as the representative of Oceania and a team that will look for its chance through organization, set pieces and disciplined defending. In such company, Egypt cannot count on an easy path, but it has enough individual quality to be competitive in the fight for one of the places leading to the next phase. The key will be whether Hassan’s team can combine the defensive stability from qualifying with the efficiency of Salah, Marmoush and the other attacking options.
Hassan’s list reveals the direction of Egyptian ambitions
Hossam Hassan, a former great Egyptian striker, took over the national team with the clear task of restoring stability and competitive toughness. Qualification for the World Cup gave him a strong argument, but the final list shows that the coach did not want merely to confirm the existing hierarchy. The omission of Mostafa Mohamed and the inclusion of Hamza Abdelkarim send a message that form, player profile and tactical compatibility take precedence over previous status. Such decisions often become a measure of a coach’s judgment only after the tournament, because the result quickly determines whether the move will be considered brave or mistaken.
For Egypt, this tournament is also important because of the broader context of African football. The expanded format gives more national teams the opportunity to compete at the highest level, but at the same time increases expectations of teams with a long tradition and players with international experience. Egypt is the most successful national team in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, but at World Cups it is still searching for a result that would match the reputation it has on the continent. In that sense, the 2026 tournament is not just another appearance, but an opportunity for the generation led by Salah to leave a deeper mark.
The final list of 26 players can therefore be read as a combination of caution and change. Hassan has kept an experienced core, included several players who have gone through major domestic and continental matches, but left room for a younger offensive option that can bring an element of unpredictability. The first answers will come in the match against Belgium in Seattle, because it will already then become clearer how much Egypt can control the rhythm against a stronger opponent and how much the absence of Mostafa Mohamed will affect its attacking variations. Until then, the greatest attention will remain on Salah, but Hassan’s list shows that Egypt’s story at this World Cup does not depend on just one name.
Sources:
- Egyptian Football Association – official announcement of the final list of 26 players and confirmation of Group G (link)
- FIFA – announcement of Egypt’s preliminary list and the context of preparations for the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA – overview of Group G, the schedule and the competition format at the 2026 World Cup (link)
- Al Jazeera / Reuters – report on the preliminary list, the omission of Mostafa Mohamed, the role of Mohamed Salah and Egypt’s schedule in the group (link)
- FIFA – report on Egypt’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup and the qualifying victory against Djibouti (link)
- Ligue 1 – official statistical profile of Mostafa Mohamed for the 2025/26 season (link)