“Lebanon 24” continues to follow up on the file of the Arab teams participating in the 2026 World Cup, with a review of the status of each team, its history in the tournament, its most prominent players, and its chances in its group. Today, the station is with Egypt, the team that returns to the World Cup carrying a mixture of ambition and pressure, in light of a generation led by Mohamed Salah and searching for a result that goes beyond the limits of participation..
Egypt does not enter the 2026 World Cup as a newcomer to the tournament, but it also does not have a long history of regular attendance. The Egyptian national team participated in the 1934, 1990 and 2018 editions, before qualifying for the 2026 edition, and was the first African team to reach the World Cup finals. However, the basic problem remains clear: Egypt has not yet succeeded in going beyond the first round, which makes the next edition an important opportunity to change this picture..
Technically, Hossam Hassan is leading the team in a sensitive stage, because expectations are not related to qualification alone, but rather to what the team can provide in the tournament. The team has names capable of making a difference, but it needs a clear balance between defense and attack, especially since the group does not allow many mistakes..
The most prominent star remains Mohamed Salah, the captain and first face of the national team, but Egypt does not stand alone on him. The presence of Omar Marmoush gives the attack speed and additional solutions, while Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet” represents an important option with his experience and ability to play in more than one position. At the back, Mohamed El-Shenawy’s experience remains present in guarding, along with names such as Mohamed Abdel Moneim, Emam Ashour and Ahmed Zizo. According to the latest preliminary list, Egypt’s choices witnessed the exclusion of Mostafa Mohamed, in exchange for the inclusion of the young man Hamza Abdel Karim, a Barcelona U-19 player, before the final list was reduced to 26 players..
Egypt’s draw was balanced, but not easy. The team was placed in Group Seven alongside Belgium, New Zealand and Iran. He will start his campaign against Belgium on June 15 in Seattle, then face New Zealand in Vancouver, before concluding the first round against Iran again in Seattle..
The first confrontation against Belgium will be the most difficult on paper, not only because of the value of the Belgian team, but also because the starting result will determine the shape of the calculations. Egypt will need a disciplined match, reducing spaces and betting on quick transitions through Salah and Marmoush. Coming out with a point from this match will be an important result, while losing will make the New Zealand confrontation almost pivotal.
Against New Zealand, there is little room for complex calculations. This is the match in which Egypt must look for victory if it wants to enter the final round comfortably. As for the match with Iran, it may be a direct confrontation for the qualification ticket or at least for a qualifying position among the best third-place finishers, which means that the physical and mental factors will be essential..
Egyptian hope is realistic, but it requires smart match management. The team does not enter the tournament as a candidate to go far, but it has enough to compete for qualification from the group if it maintains its defensive cohesion and benefits from the quality of its players in attack. For Egypt, success in 2026 will not merely appear in the World Cup, but rather by breaking the first round knot and opening a new page in its history with the World Cup..
