Egypt

Egypt secured a 1 - 0 win over Russia in a home friendly on May 28, keeping their World Cup preparations on track. The 27-man preliminary squad, revealed on May 21, crowns Mohamed Salah as captain while a player faces the final cut after the match, and the side also missed a key midfielder due to suspension. With the tournament looming, Egypt will look to fine-tune the roster and convert the friendly success into confidence ahead of the decisive selection deadline.

Egypt play against Belgium as the away side in the expanded World Cup Group G opener, a test of the Pharaohs' defensive discipline. Egypt have won 1, drawn 2 and lost 1 of their last 4 away games, scoring 1.00 and conceding 0.25 goals per game. Hossam Hassan has instilled plenty of defensive discipline and a clear counter-attacking identity to this Egyptian side since taking over in February 2024. The Pharaohs usually set up in a 4-2-3-1, using either a low block or a mid-block before exploding into life on the break, with Mohamed Salah leading the counter. Mohamed Elneny anchors the Egyptian midfield and provides some defensive stability to this system, which will make them difficult to break down at times. Egypt have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five, which isn't a bad record, but they are not in the same class as Belgium, and their recent results have not been as strong as Belgium. They held Spain to a 0-0 draw away, but beat Russia 1-0 at home.