Egypt has officially announced a 27-man provisional squad under the leadership of captain Mohamed Salah ahead of the upcoming 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup. The most notable inclusion in the selection is teenage forward Hamza Abdelkarim, who plays for Barcelona’s Under-19 youth team and has earned his maiden senior international call-up. Concurrently, head coach Hossam Hassan has omitted Nantes forward Mostafa Mohamed from the tournament line-up.
Salah will be partnered in the Egyptian attack by Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush. Coach Hassan is scheduled to trim the current provisional squad by one player following Egypt’s final home friendly match against Russia, which will take place in the capital city of Cairo on 28 May 2026. This final omission will reduce the roster to the official 26-man squad mandated by FIFA.
Egypt’s FIFA World Cup Provisional 27-Man Roster
The provisional squad selected by head coach Hossam Hassan, categorized by playing positions, is detailed in the table below:
Player Performance and Tournament Schedule
The exclusion of forward Mostafa Mohamed comes after a difficult domestic campaign in France, where he scored only four goals in 24 appearances for Nantes, a season that also saw his club relegated from Ligue 1. Conversely, the inclusion of the teenage prospect Hamza Abdelkarim follows a series of strong performances for the Barcelona youth setup, solidifying his reputation as one of Egypt’s most promising young attacking talents.
Egypt’s World Cup Preparation and Group Stage Fixtures
Following their encounter with Russia, Egypt will travel to the United States to play a high-profile friendly match against Brazil in Cleveland on 6 June 2026. The 23rd FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is scheduled to run from 11 June to 19 July 2026. Egypt will officially launch their World Cup campaign in Seattle, with their chronological fixtures outlined below:
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15 June 2026: Egypt vs Belgium (Seattle)
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21 June 2026: Egypt vs New Zealand (Vancouver)
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26 June 2026: Egypt vs Iran (Seattle)
