The Egyptian national team headed to Alexandria’s Borg El-Arab stadium on Tuesday afternoon to begin their trip to Uganda’s Kampala, ahead of the much-anticipated 2018 African World Cup qualifier.
The two nations will face-off Thursday at the Mandela National Stadium, five days before the second-leg in Alexandria.
The Pharaohs team showed up in full for their final training session on Tuesday morning, with 29 players taking part.
All players who had been called-up were present, including the 15 foreign-based players requested for national duty, such as Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah.
The technical staff, under Argentinean manager Hector Cuper, have excluded four players from the squad: Ismaily keeper Mohamed Awad, Ahly defender Ayman Ashraf, Ahly midfielder Ahmed El-Shiekh and Smouha defender Mahmoud Ezzat, who was called-up late to substitute Zamalek’s injured Ali Gabr.
“I am confident of the players’ ability to overcome Uganda as well as easily getting to the World Cup finals,” Cuper said on Monday.
Topping Group E with six points, the Pharaohs are looking for a victory in the Ugandan capital to boost their qualification chances.
Egypt will host Uganda on 5 September at Alexandria’s Borg El-Arab Stadium.
Egypt last made it to the World Cup in 1990 and hope to end their 28-year wait with an appearance in Russia next year.
The final 25-man squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers:
Essam El-Hadary (Taawoun, KSA), Sherif Ekrami (Ahly), Ahmed El-Shennawy (Zamalek).
Defenders:
Ahmed Elmohamady (Aston Villa, England), Mohamed Abdel-Shafi (Ahly Jeddah, KSA), Ahmed Hegazi (West Bromwich, England), Omar Gaber (Basel, Switzerland), Karim Hafiz (Lens, France), Saad Samir (Ahly), Rami Rabia (Ahly), Ahmed Fathi (Ahly), Mohamed Fathi (Ismaily).
Midfielders:
Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal, England), Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan (Kasimpasa, Turkey), Sam Morsi (Wigan, England), Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City, England), Tarek Hamed (Zamalek), Hossam Ashour (Ahly), Abdallah El-Said (Ahly), Saleh Gomaa (Ahly).
Forwards:
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, England), Ahmed Koka (Sporting Braga, Portugal), Amr Gamal (Bivest Witts, South Africa), Mahmoud “Kahraba” Abdel-Moneim (Ittihad Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), Hossam Hassan (Smouha).
More reporting and photo by Ahram
