The eleven players came as follows:
1- Rami Rabia (UAE’s Al Ain, defender)
Despite being one of the veteran defenders in Egyptian football in recent years, the 32-year old Rabia is making his first ever appearance at the African Cup of Nations this time.
The former Ahly player made 37 appearances with the Pharaohs so far; including 14 in international friendlies, 14 in World Cup qualifiers and finally nine in the African Cup qualifiers.
2- Mostafa Ahmed Shobeir (Ahly, goalkeeper)
After proving his worth as one of the rising keepers in the past two seasons with Ahly jersey, Mostafa Shobeir joined Egypt squad for the first time after gaining the confidence of coach Hossam Hassan who depended on him as a consistent replacement since taking the charge in February 2024.
The 25-year old Shobeir, who made four international appearances so far, took his first chance in the 1-1 draw against Botswana in the AFCON qualifiers in November 2024, followed by the World Cup qualifier 3-0 win over Djibouti last October. Then he also appeared in the two friendlies against Cape Verde and Nigeira in November and earlier this month respectively.
3- Ahmed Eid (Masry, defender)
After delivering outstanding performances with his costal club Masry, the 24-year old Eid also got his first ever call up to the national team by Hossam Hassan in September 2024.
Eid, who made five international appearances till now, remained on the bench in the first game against Botswana in the African Cup qualifiers, before being in action in the three successive games in the same contest against Mauritania {two games} and Cape Verde.
He also played in the World Cup qualifiers in the 0-0 draw with Burkina Faso and then the 1-0 win over to Guinea-Bissau. He remained on the bench in the 2-1 friendly win over Nigeria on 16 December.
4- Hossam Abdelmaguid (Zamalek, defender)
The 24 -year old Zamalek Center-back has some experience in the continental level as he previously made five appearances with the national team in the U-23 African Cup of Nations back in 2023; contributing in guiding the young Pharaohs to the title.
At the senior level, Abdelmaguid, who made six appearances with the Pharaohs so far, got his first call up for the senior team by former coach Rui Vitoria in September 2023 as he made his first appearance in the friendly 3-1 loss to Tunisia. He returned to the spot under coach Hassan; making his first official appearance in 1-1 draw in the African Cup qualifier against Botswana in November 2024.
Since then he was called up by the coach consistently to the camps, but only played twice in the African Cup qualifiers against Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau respectively and also in the two friendly games against Cape Verde and Nigeria.
5- Khaled Sobhi (Masry, defender)
The 30-year old Sobhi, who played five international games so far, also got his first ever call-up to the senior national team by Hossam Hassan in September last year.
Hi first game was in the 4-0 African Cup qualifier win over Botswana followed by another appearance in the same contest against Mauritania a month later. His other participations came as three matches in the World Cup qualifiers this year against Ethiopia {two games} and Burkina Faso. Since his last appearance in September, he was called for the last five games of the national team but remained on the bench.
6- Mohamed Ismail (Zamalek, defender)
The 26-year old Zamalek player got his first ever call up for the national team by coach Hassan for the Cape Verde friendly game last month, but he remained on the bench. He is yet to make his first appearance with the team in the prestigious continental tournament in Morocco.
7- Mahmoud Saber (ZED FC, midfielder)
The 24-year old Saber is one of those who gained the confidence of coach Hassan as he got his first call-up by the former veteran striker in October 2024; playing in three successive African Cup qualifiers against Mauritania {two games} and Cape Verde. Then he played in four World Cup qualifiers this year against Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Guinea-Bissau respectively.
At recent friendlies, he was also on target; playing against Uzbekistan and Cape Verde last month followed by the recent win over Nigeria.
8- Mohamed Shehata (Zamalek, midfielder)
The 24 year old Shehata has both the talent and continental experience that could help him to shine this time as he previously represented the national Youth team {one game] and the U-23 national team {15 games including four in the 2023 U-23 African Cup of Nations}.
The Zamalek midfielder, who played seven games with the Pharaohs so far, got his first call-up to the senior team by coach Hassan in September 2024. Since then, he featured in two African Cup qualifiers against Mauritania and Cape Verde followed by two World Cup qualifiers with Ethiopia and Sierra Leone this year.
He was also available in the recent warm-up friendlies against Uzbekistan and Cape Verde last month followed by the recent win over Nigeria.
9- Osama Faisal (NBE Club, forward)
The 24-year old Faisal is on the of the stars of Egypt’s U-23 national team. He played one game with the national Youth team and then shined with the Olympic team; playing 14 matches including five in the 2023 U-23 African Cup of Nations where he scored a single goal.
His talent earned him an early call to the senior team back in 2021 under former coach Carlos Queiroz who depended on him in three games at the FIFA Arab Cup at the time.
After almost three years of absence from the senior level, Hossam Hassan recalled Faisal again since September 2024 to become a regular and key member in the squad since then.
He played four games in the African Cup qualifiers against Botswana {two matches}, Mauritania and Cape Verde. Also he was available in the World Cup qualifiers with Ethiopia {two games}, Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau.
At the recent warm-ups, coach Hassan also depended on Faisal; featuring in against Uzbekistan and Cape Verde last month followed by the recent win over Nigeria.
10- Salah Mohsen (Masry, forward)
The 27-year old Mohsen, who made eight appearances with the Pharaohs so far, got his first ever call up t o the national team early in 2017; featuring in a single friendly game against Morocco.
Then he had three rare appearances from 2018 to 2021 before totally disappearing from the senior team.
The former Enppi and Ahly player was also a key member of Egypt’s U-23 national team at the 2023 African Cup; appearing in five games to help for winning the title.
Ending the long absence, coach Hassan suddenly recalled Mohsen for the first time under his guidance to play in the recent warm-ups for the AFCON; featuring in against Uzbekistan and Cape Verde last month followed by the win over Nigeria this month.
11- Ibrahim Adel (UAE’s Al-Jazira, Midfielder)
The 24-year old Adel, who made 17 appearances so far with the Pharaohs, got his first ever call up to the senior national team in 2021 and since then he made rare appearances {five matches} before playing consistently following the appointment of coach Hosssam Hassn.
The former Pyramids FC player is a former star of the U-23 national team; featuring in nine games; including five at the 2023 African Cup of Nations in which he scored a single goal to contribute in the continental title.
Under Hassan, Adel played all the six games in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers where he scored twice and also scored once while playing in five games at the World Cup qualifiers before being excluded in the recent warm-ups for the AFCON.
Yasser Ibrahim (Ahly - defender)
The experienced defender has yet to make his debut in Africa’s top international tournament. Although he was named in Egypt’s squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations by then coach Carlos Queiroz, he did not feature in any matches.
The 32-year-old has been a key figure for Ahly over the past two seasons and could be an option for coach Hossam Hassan. However, he faces strong competition for a place in the starting lineup, with Rami Rabia and Khaled Sobhi established as Egypt’s preferred central defensive pairing.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: