Versatile Nantes forward Mostafa Mohamed is significantly missing from the 27-man reserve squad.
Published May 21, 2026
Nantes forward Mostafa Mohamed has been left out of Egypt’s qualifying squad for next month’s FIFA World Cup, but uncapped teenager Hamza Abdelkarim, who plays for Barcelona’s Under-19 team, is included.
Liverpool keeper Mohamed Salah will captain the team and team up with Manchester City’s Omar Marmouche to lead the attack at the World Cup, to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, head coach Hossam Hassan announced on Wednesday.
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Egypt will have one player removed after their final home friendly match against Russia in Cairo on May 28 in Cairo to reduce the squad to 26 players as required by FIFA regulations, before heading to the United States.
Mostafa’s absence was surprising despite his poor form with Nantes this season, with just four goals in 24 games, as the French club were relegated from Ligue 1.
Abdelkarim, in contrast, is in great form with Barcelona’s youth team and is one of the most promising forward talents in Egyptian football.
Egypt will play Brazil in a friendly in Cleveland on June 6, before opening the World Cup against Belgium in Seattle nine days later.
They will then face New Zealand in Vancouver, Canada on June 21, before returning to Seattle five days later to wrap up Group G against Iran.
Egypt representative:
Goalkeepers: Mohamed El-Shennawy (Al-Ahly), Mostafa Shobair (Al-Ahly), El-Mahdi Soliman (Zamalek), Mohamed Alaa (El-Gouna)
Defenders: Mohamed Hany (Al Ahly), Tarek Alaa (Zed), Hamdi Fathy (Al Wakrah), Rami Rabiah (Al Ain), Yasser Ibrahim (Al Ahly), Hossam Abdelmaguid (Zamalek), Mohamed Abdelmonemoun (Nice), Ahmed Fatouh (Zamalek), Karim Hafez (Pyramids).
Midfielders: Marwan Attiya (Al Ahly), Mohanad Racine (Pyramid), Nabil Emad (Al Najma), Mahmoud Saber (Zed), Ahmed Zizo (Al Ahly), Imam Ashur (Al Ahly), Mostafa Zico (Pyramids), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Al Ahli), Ibrahim Adel (Nordsjaelland), Haisem Hassan (Real Ovideo）
Forwards: Omar Marmouche (Manchester City), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Akhtay Abdallah (Empi), Hamza Abdelkarim (Barcelona U19) (Reporting by Mohamed Yosry in Cairo; Additional reporting by Ahmed El Kashab and Bassem Zahran; Editing by Nick Mulvaney and Peter Rutherford)
