Everything you need to know about the Egypt football side.

All Whites v Egypt: June 22, 1pm (NZT)

Colours: Home – Red shirt, black shorts, black socks. Alternative – White shirt, white shorts, white socks (they’ll wear this strip against the All Whites).

Nickname: The Pharaohs

World ranking: 28

Ones to watch: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Omar Marmoush (Manchester City), Trézéguet (Al Ahly)

Coach: Hossam Hassan

Captain: Mohamed Salah

Previous meetings: The two sides have played three times, the most recent meeting being in 2024, when Egypt claimed a 1-0 victory. They also played back-to-back friendlies in 1999 in preparation for the Confederations Cup, with Harry Ngata scoring in a 1-1 draw in Mexico City, before Egypt won the second match 1-0 in Guadalajara.

Form guide: Reached the African Cup of Nations semi-finals in January, before losing 1-0 to Senegal. Held Spain to a 0-0 draw in March, beat Russia 1-0 in a recent friendly, while they lost 2-1 to Brazil in a World Cup warm-up on June 6.

Fun fact: Egypt were set to play in the inaugural 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, but the squad missed a connecting ship in Europe due to a storm – leaving the tournament with 13 teams.

World Cup schedule:

Egypt 1 Belgium 1

Egypt v New Zealand, June 22, Vancouver, 1pm

Egypt v Iran, June 27, Seattle, 3pm

Egypt Fifa World Cup squad

Goalkeepers

Mohamed El Shenawy (Al Ahly), Mostafa Shobeir (Al Ahly), El Mahdi Soliman (Zamalek), Mohamed Alaa (El Gouna)

Defenders

Mohamed Hany (Al Ahly), Tarek Alaa (Zed), Hamdy Fathy (Al Wakrah), Rami Rabia (Al Ain), Yasser Ibrahim (Al Ahly), Hossam Abdelmaguid (Zamalek), Mohamed Abdelmonemn (Nice), Ahmed Fatouh (Zamalek), Karim Hafez (Pyramids)

Midfielders

Marwan Ateya (Al Ahly), Mohanad Lasheen (Pyramids), Nabil Emad (Al Najma), Mahmoud Saber (Zed), Ahmed Zizo (Al Ahly), Emam Ashour (Al Ahly), Mostafa Ziko (Pyramids), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Al Ahly), Ibrahim Adel (Nordsjaelland), Haissem Hassan (Real Ovideo)

Forwards

Omar Marmoush (Manchester City), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Aqtay Abdallah (Enppi), Hamza Abdelkarim (Barcelona)

‘Go as far as possible’

“I think the players are well aware of what it means to be in the World Cup, especially after we missed out for nearly 30 years,” Mahmoud Hassan, known as “Trézéguet” told Fifa.com.

“But thank God, we’ve made it back. At this point, only Mohamed Salah, Mohamed El Shenawy and I are left from the previous generation. Our aim is to pass on our experience to the others so we can achieve something big. Honestly, our objective is to get through the group stage first and then go as far as possible, to raise Egypt’s flag high.

Road to the World Cup

Topped their group in the first round of CAF qualifying with eight wins and two draws.

History at the World Cup

1934: Played 1, won 0, drew 0, lost 1 – lost in straight knockout format

1990: Played 3, won 0, drew 2, lost 1 – didn’t advance to knockout round

2018: Played 3, won 0, drew 0, lost 3 – didn’t advance to knockout round

Best result at the World Cup

Much like the All Whites, they are still chasing a maiden win at the tournament, with two draws to their name in 1990; the one that stands out is the 1-1 result with the Netherlands.

Formation

4-2-3-1 or 3-4-1-2. All about getting Salah and Marmoush into some space at the front.

Famous Egyptians

Tutankhamun and Cleopatra for sure, and in more recent times actor Omar Sharif, with Mo Salah probably completing the Egyptian Mount Rushmore (or Giza Pyramid if you will).

Do we like them?

Another country New Zealand doesn’t have a strong sporting rivalry with but the two countries are linked through World War II, when Cairo served as the major hub for the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, when the Maadi Camp housed up to 76,000 New Zealanders throughout the war. After Kiwi soldiers engaged in rowing races against a local club, the hosts gifted them a trophy to take home; today, the Maadi Cup is competed for by schools rowing teams from across New Zealand.

Diplomatic communique

Egyptian ambassador George Azer Saleeb told the Herald: “Football is Egypt’s most popular sport and a major common passion, uniting people across generations. Egyptian culture is where ancient wonders meet modern daily life: a vibrant tapestry formed through millennia of history, from the time of the Pharaohs and the Greco-Roman period to the Coptic Christian and Islamic eras.

“Family, deep-rooted traditions and a generous spirit of hospitality, that extends even to strangers, are some features of the social life. Egypt is also considered the cultural heart of the Arab world, celebrated for its legendary cinema industry, music and Nobel award laureates, like Naguib Mahfouz (literature) and Ahmed Zewail (science). Egyptian cuisine includes beloved dishes such as koshari, ful medames and molokhia.”

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