Towards the first World Cup victory… Salah leads the Egyptian team

The Egyptian national team enters the 2026 World Cup finals with great ambitions to achieve the first victory in its history at the World Cup, in a participation that may mark the final appearance of the leader of the “Pharaohs” and their most prominent star, Mohamed Salah, on the world stage.

Although the Egyptian national team was the first African team to participate in the World Cup in 1934, it did not succeed in achieving any victory during its previous three participations in 1934, 1990 and 2018, contenting itself with two draws and five defeats, in a paradox for a team that holds the record for the number of African Cup of Nations titles with seven titles.

Salah played his first World Cup experience during the Russian 2018 edition amid difficult circumstances, after he suffered a severe shoulder injury during the Champions League final with his team, Liverpool, following an intervention by Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos.

The Egyptian star missed the first match against Uruguay, before scoring two goals against Russia and Saudi Arabia, but this did not prevent the team from being eliminated from the first round.

Salah is preparing to compete in the 2026 World Cup after the end of his career with Liverpool after 9 years full of titles and achievements, during which he won the English Premier League twice in 2020 and 2025, in addition to the Champions League title in 2019, to become one of the most prominent legends of the English club.

But the 33-year-old player suffered a muscle injury last April that kept him out of Dutch coach Arne Slot’s squad for a while, amid reports of tense relations between them during the season.