Egypt’s senior national football team is preparing to begin its campaign in the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations when it hosts Angola tonight, Friday, at Cairo International Stadium in the opening round.

Led by head coach Hossam Hassan, Egypt will be looking for a strong start and the first three points of the campaign, especially with the match being played at home before the team travels to Juba to face South Sudan in the second round.

The expected lineup includes several of Egypt’s key players, with Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush likely to lead the attack, alongside a mix of experienced names and players who have earned the coaching staff’s trust during the current camp.

Salah and Marmoush Up Front

Mostafa Shobeir is expected to start in goal, while Mohamed Hany, Rami Rabia, Mohamed Abdelmonem and Ahmed Fattouh are likely to form the defensive line.

In midfield, Emam Ashour, Mohanad Lasheen, Ahmed Sayed Zizo and Mahmoud Saber are among the leading candidates to start, while Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush are expected to lead the attack.

Egypt’s expected starting lineup is:

Goalkeeper: Mostafa Shobeir.

Defenders: Mohamed Hany, Rami Rabia, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Ahmed Fattouh.

Midfielders: Emam Ashour, Mohanad Lasheen, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Mahmoud Saber.

Forwards: Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush.

Hossam Hassan also has several options on the bench who could be used depending on how the match develops, with a number of players able to cover more than one position.

Egypt’s September squad includes four goalkeepers: Mostafa Shobeir, El Mahdi Soliman, Mohamed Alaa and Abdel Aziz El Balouty.

The defensive options are Mohamed Hany, Tarek Alaa, Rami Rabia, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Hossam Abdelmaguid, Omar Fayed, Ahmed Fattouh and Karim Hafez.

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The midfield group includes Marwan Attia, Mohanad Lasheen, Mahmoud Saber, Emam Ashour, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Ali Mahmoud, Ibrahim Adel, Mostafa Ziko, Haytham Hassan and Mohamed Salah, while Omar Marmoush and Hamza Abdelkarim are included among the attacking options.

The coaching staff is aiming to use the September camp not only to begin the qualifiers with positive results, but also to prepare as many players as possible for the upcoming matches, especially with both competitive and friendly fixtures on the schedule.

Road to 2027

Egypt face Angola at 10:00 PM on Friday, September 25, 2026, at Cairo International Stadium in their first match of the 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign.

After the Angola match, Egypt will travel to Juba to face South Sudan on September 29 in the second round, with the game scheduled to kick off at 3:00 PM.

The Pharaohs will then play a friendly against South Africa on October 4 as part of Hossam Hassan’s preparations for the next stage and his plans to give the squad more opportunities to reach full match fitness.

Egypt’s qualifying campaign will continue during the upcoming international windows. The team is scheduled to face Malawi twice in November before completing this stage of the qualifiers in March 2027 with matches against South Sudan and Angola.

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, marking the first time the tournament is staged across three countries.

The competition is scheduled to begin on June 19, 2027, and run until July 17.

A total of 48 national teams are taking part in the qualifying stage, divided into 12 groups of four teams. The top two teams in each group will qualify directly for the finals.

Egypt will be hoping to put itself in a strong position early in the campaign and avoid difficult calculations in the final rounds, making the opening game against Angola an important first step.

Egyptian supporters will also be watching closely to see how the national team performs in its first official match of the qualifiers, especially with major names such as Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush, Emam Ashour, Zizo and Mohamed Abdelmonem expected to feature.

The official starting lineup will only be confirmed by Hossam Hassan shortly before kickoff, but the current indications suggest that Egypt will begin its qualifying journey with a combination of experienced players and key names the coaching staff is looking to rely on during the next stage.