Egypt are currently topping the Group A with two wins from the opening two games, securing a dominant 6-0 win over Djibouti before defeating Sierra Leone 2-0 away from home.

However, the Pharaohs had a poor run in the African Cup of Nations, exiting the tournament at the Round of 16 stage which led to Rui Vitoria losing his place in the dugout and being replaced by Egyptian icon Hossam Hassan.

The Egyptian national team's all-time leading scorer, who is making his first competitive fixture, took the helm of the Pharaohs back in February making his debut in the Egypt Capital Cup friendly tournament last March where he led his men to a 1-0 win over New Zealand and a 4-2 defeat to Croatia in the final.

Salah back for Egypt
 

Egypt and Liverpool star winger Mohamed Salah has joined the Egypt camp ahead of the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau on 6 and 11 June, respectively.

Salah missed the March camp to focus on Liverpool amid reports of differences with the newly appointed coach Hossam Hassan.

Some notable absentees from Egypt's squad include defender Ahmed Hegazi, midfielder Mohamed Elneny, defender Ahmed Fatouh and forward Omar Marmoush.

Hossam Hassan emphasized on Wednesday that Burkina Faso is a tough opponent, dismissing any reports suggesting that the Pharaohs will have an easy task against the Stallions.

"There is no easy opponent in the group," Hossam Hassan told the pre-match news conference.

On the other hand, Burkina Faso are the main rival for Egypt in the Group as they currently occupy second place with four points, two points behind Egypt.

Therefore, the crucial match against Egypt could be decisive for both teams. In the first two matches, Burkina Faso drew 1-1 against Guinea-Bissau and then defeated Ethiopia 3-0.

In the African Cup of Nations, Burkina Faso also were eliminated, failing to advance from the group stage alongside Algeria, Mali, and Angola.

This also led to a change in head coach, with Brahima Traoré replacing Hervé Vellud. In March, Burkina Faso under the new coach lost 1-2 to Libya in a friendly and drew 1-1 against Niger.

The Stallions will be without team’s star Bertrand Traoré who plays for Spanish side Villarreal, while midfielder of Egyptian Premier side Pyramids FC Blate Toure is set to lead the Burkinabe squad against Egypt.  

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)

Follow us on:

Facebook

Instagram

Whatsapp