Cairo: Egypt’s national team coach, Hossam Hassan, announced the squad for the opening matches of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Angola and South Sudan. The squad includes Ali Mahmoud and goalkeeper Abdel Aziz El Balouti, while veteran goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, midfielder Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet,” and defender Yasser Ibrahim are absent due to injury.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Egypt, seven-time continental champions, will face Angola in Cairo on September 25th before traveling to South Sudan for the continental qualifiers, followed by a friendly against South Africa on October 4th.

The squad includes Al Ahly player Hassan Ali Mahmoud for the first time, as well as El Balouti, goalkeeper for Al Ahly Bank. The rest of the squad remains largely unchanged from the one that participated in the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Team manager Ibrahim Hassan stated, “The squad is missing several players due to injury, most notably Trezeguet, Yasser Ibrahim, and El Shenawy. Marwan Attia will only miss the Angola match due to suspension during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.”

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) suspended Attia for two matches, and he already missed the third-place match against Nigeria.

The announced squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Mostafa Shobeir, El Mahdi Soliman, Mohamed Alaa, and Abdelaziz El Balouti.

Defenders: Mohamed Hany, Tarek Alaa, Ramy Rabia, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Hossam Abdelmaguid, Hamdi Fathi, Ahmed Fatouh, and Karim Hafez.

Midfielders: Marwan Attia, Mohannad Lasheen, Mahmoud Saber, Emam Ashour, Ahmed Sayed “Zizo”, Ali Mahmoud, Ibrahim Adel, Mostafa Abdel Raouf “Zico”, Haitham Hassan, and Mohamed Salah.

Forwards: Omar Marmoush and Hamza Abdelkarim.