Mohamed Salah, captain of the Egyptian national team, made sure to be present on the bench with the Pharaohs’ substitutes in the final minutes of their match against Guinea-Bissau currently held at Cairo Stadium. This match is the conclusion of the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, and Salah joined his teammates to celebrate qualifying for the World Cup.

The starting lineup for Egypt against Guinea-Bissau included: goalkeeper Mohamed Sobhi; defenders Mohamed Hany, Rami Rabia, Yasser Ibrahim, Mohamed Hamdy; midfielders Mohanad Lasheen, Ahmed Nabil Kouka, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet; and the attacking trio Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Ibrahim Adel, and Mostafa Mohamed.

The substitutes list included: Mostafa Shobeir, Abdelaziz Belouty, Hossam Abdel Meguid, Amr Elgazar, Khaled Sobhi, Ahmed Eid, Mahmoud Saber, Mostafa Fathi, and Osama Faisal.

Also absent from the match were Marwan Attia (Al Ahly) and Hamdi Fathi (Al Wakrah, Qatar) due to suspension after receiving a second yellow card in a previous match.

Forced absences: Additionally, important players missed the current camp and were unavailable for the match due to injuries, notably Omar Marmoush, Manchester City star, Mohamed Abdel Monem, Emam Ashour, Mohamed Shehata, and Nabil Emad Donga.

Egypt qualified for the World Cup for the fourth time, topping Group A in the African qualifiers with 23 points from 9 matches before tonight’s final 10th round match against Guinea-Bissau, which the Pharaohs are playing as a formality.

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) set December 5 as the date for the 2026 World Cup draw, which will feature 48 teams for the first time in history, to be held in the US capital, Washington.