Mohamed Salah, 33, was named captain of Egypt's 27-man preliminary squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada, and Mexico [1, 2]. Salah leads a squad that features winger Omar Marmoush from Manchester City and 18-year-old Hamza Abdelkarim from Barcelona’s Under-19 team, both included for their World Cup debut [1, 2].
Notably, Nantes forward Mostafa Mohamed was omitted from the preliminary squad [1, 2]. The team is preparing under head coach Hossam Hassan, who will trim the preliminary squad from 27 to 26 players following a friendly match against Russia in Cairo on May 28 [1, 2]. Before the tournament, Egypt will face Brazil in a friendly on June 6 in Cleveland [1, 2].
Egypt was drawn into Group G alongside Belgium, New Zealand, and Iran [1, 2]. Their opening World Cup match will be against Belgium in Seattle on June 15 [1, 2]. They will then face New Zealand in Vancouver on June 21, followed by a match against Iran back in Seattle on June 27 [1, 2].
Salah is Egypt’s all-time leading international scorer with 67 goals in 115 appearances [1]. Al Jazeera noted, "Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah will captain the squad and combine with Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush to lead the attack at the World Cup" [2].
The team’s next key date is the May 28 friendly against Russia in Cairo, after which the squad list will be reduced to 26 players ahead of the tournament preparations.
