Ali Maher named his first Egypt squad a day after taking over from Hossam Hassan, selecting 26 players for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Malawi. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush headline the squad.
Modern Sport striker Mahmoud Mamdouh earned his first senior call-up after topping the Egyptian Premier League scoring charts with eight goals. He was also the league’s leading scorer when the previous coaching staff named their September squad, which he missed out on.
Mohamed El Shenawy returns after missing the previous camp and joins Mostafa Shobeir, El Mahdy Soliman and Mohamed Alaa among the goalkeepers, with Abdelaziz El Balouty left out. Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet also returns after recovering from the injury that kept him out of the opening two qualifiers.
Mahmoud Hamdy El Wensh and Mahmoud Marei are back in defence, while Nasser Maher and Mohamed Shehata return in midfield. Marei, a Pyramids FC defender, made his international debut in a friendly against South Sudan in 2023.
Emam Ashour is the most notable omission after starting Hossam Hassan’s final game in charge, a friendly against South Africa. The midfielder has missed Al Ahly’s recent matches, a decision the club attributed to coach Hussein Ammouta’s selection choices.
Mostafa Mohamed remains out of the squad. His club was among those the previous staff did not contact before the camp. Mostafa Zico is serving a five-match FIFA suspension following incidents in the World Cup match against Argentina. Omar Fayed and Osama Faisal, both included in the previous camp, also miss out.
Maher begins his tenure against Malawi at Cairo International Stadium on 13 November, with the return fixture at Bingu National Stadium on 17 November. Egypt lead Group B on goal difference ahead of Angola, with both sides on four points. The Pharaohs drew 0–0 with Angola and beat South Sudan 5–0. Malawi are third with three points.
Egypt squad for the Malawi qualifiers
- Goalkeepers — Mohamed El Shenawy, El Mahdy Soliman, Mostafa Shobeir, Mohamed Alaa.
- Defenders — Mahmoud Hamdy El Wensh, Hossam Abdelmaguid, Rami Rabia, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Mahmoud Marei, Mohamed Hany, Karim Hafez, Ahmed Fatouh, Tarek Alaa.
- Midfielders — Marwan Attia, Mohanad Lasheen, Mahmoud Saber, Mohamed Shehata, Nasser Maher, Ibrahim Adel, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Haissem Hassan.
- Forwards — Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush, Hamza Abdelkarim, Mahmoud Mamdouh.
