Egypt are preparing to begin their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with several changes to the squad, as injuries, technical decisions and a suspension have forced head coach Hossam Hassan to adjust his plans ahead of the matches against Angola and South Sudan.

Egypt will face Angola on September 25 before taking on South Sudan on September 29 in their opening two matches of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.

Egypt team director Ibrahim Hassan explained that the latest squad includes several changes compared with the previous camp, with some players unavailable and others receiving an opportunity to join the national team.

Squad Changes

Egypt will be without four players who had been part of the team's plans in recent camps.

Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet and Yasser Ibrahim are unavailable because of injury.

Mohamed El Shenawy and Nabil Emad Donga are also not included in the current squad. Reports differ over the reason for El Shenawy's absence, with some sources linking it to injury and others describing it as a technical decision.

Donga, who plays for Saudi club Al Najma, was left out following a technical decision by Hossam Hassan.

The absences have also opened the door for other players to receive an opportunity with the national team.

Abdelaziz El-Balouty has been added to the goalkeeping group, while Al Ahly player Ali Mahmoud has also been included among the new options available to the coaching staff.

The technical team will use the camp to help the new players adapt while maintaining a balance between regular starters and those receiving a fresh opportunity ahead of the qualifiers.

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Attia Misses Angola

Although Marwan Attia is included in Egypt's squad, the Al Ahly midfielder will not be available for the opening match against Angola because of suspension.

The Confederation of African Football handed Attia a two-match ban, with the player serving the first game of that suspension against Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations third-place match.

He will therefore miss the Angola game before becoming available again after completing his suspension.

His absence gives the coaching staff another issue to solve in midfield for the opening qualifier, especially as Attia has regularly been one of Egypt's options in that area.

Egypt's squad includes four goalkeepers: Mostafa Shobeir, El Mahdi Soliman, Mohamed Alaa and Abdelaziz El-Balouty.

The defenders selected are Mohamed Hany, Tarek Alaa, Rami Rabia, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Hossam Abdelmaguid, Hamdy Fathy, Ahmed Fattouh and Karim Hafez.

The midfield and attacking options include Marwan Attia, Mohanad Lasheen, Mahmoud Saber, Emam Ashour, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Ali Mahmoud, Ibrahim Adel, Mostafa Ziko, Hytham Hassan and Mohamed Salah, along with Omar Marmoush and Hamza Abdelkarim.

Egypt enter the camp looking to prepare as many players as possible for the two qualifiers after injuries, technical decisions and suspension forced changes to the squad.

The Angola game will provide the first test for the adjusted squad before Egypt face South Sudan four days later, as the Pharaohs look for a strong start and important early points in the race to qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.