CAIRO: Mohamed Salah, the captain of Egypt’s 27-man team named by Rui Vitoria, will represent the country at the African Cup of Nations to be held in Ivory Coast.
All but two of Egypt’s starting lineup from the Cup of Nations final in Yaounde two years ago are included in the group.
Ahmed Nabil Kouka (22 years old) has been called up for the first time. He helped Egypt’s Under-23 team qualify for 2024 Paris Olympics in June and played for Cairo giants Al Ahly in this month’s Club World Cup held in Saudi Arabia.
Egypt will compete in Group B of the tournament in Ivory Coast. They begin their campaign against Mozambique in Abidjan on January 14. In their group, they also face Ghana and Cape Verde Islands.
Goalkeepers: Mohamed Abou Gabal, Ahmed El Shennawy, Mohamed El Shennawy, Mohamed El Shennawy and Mohamed Sobhi.
Defenders: Mohamed Abdelmoneim (Al Ahly), Ahmed Fatouh (Zamalek), Ali Gabr, Osama Galal, Mohamed Hamdy (all Pyramids), Mohamed Hany (Al Ahly), Ahmed Hegazi (Al Ittihad), Omar Kamal (Future), Ahmed Samy (Pyramids)
Midfielders: Emam Ashour, Marwan Attia (both Al Ahly), Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Hamdi Fathi (Al Wakrah), Mahmoud Hamada (Al Masry), Ahmed Nabil Kouka (Al Ahly), Ahmed Zizo (Zamalek)
Forwards: Mostafa Fathi (Pyramids), Mahmoud Kahraba (Al Ahly), Ahmed Hassan Kouka (Pendikspor), Omar Marmoush (Eintracht Frankfurt), Mostafa Mohamed (Nantes), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Trabzonspor).