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Egypt national team manager, Carlos Queiroz, has announced his 40-man preliminary AFCON squad, which saw the return of Aston Villa’s Mahmoud Trezeguet.
The Pharaohs are Nigeria’s first group D opponents at the Cameroon party.
Megasportsarena.com reports that Egypt just ended their Arab Cup journey where they finished fourth after losing to Qatar in the third-place decider.
The Pharaohs are now shifting their focus to the Africa Cup of Nations, set to kick-off on 9 January in Cameroon, and with one day left until the deadline to send in the squads to CAF, Queiroz announced his initial 40 picks.
Unlike previous editions, teams are allowed 28 players per squad instead of 23, meaning that 12 of the mentioned players won’t make the final cut.
One of Queiroz’s most intriguing choices is to once again leave out Zamalek defensive midfielder Tarek Hamed, who has been an integral part of the national team since making his official debut in 2015.
Arab Cup star Hussein Faisal also failed to make the cut despite playing four of Egypt’s six games in the competition and winning the Man of the Match award for the Sudan game.
Meanwhile, several players who made their international debuts in the Arab Cup were once called-up including Future FC trio Mohamed Abdelmoneim, Omar Kamal, and Ahmed Refaat, as well as ENPPI’s Marwan Daoud.
Despite the squad including 32 local-based players, only eight of them play for Al Ahly and seven from defending league champions Zamalek.
Meanwhile, Ismaily keeper Mohamed Fawzi and Al Ahly loanee to Smouha Ahmed Ramadan Beckham, have been called-up for the national team for the first time in their career.
Pyramids FC players who were unable to play in the Arab Cup due to their participation in the CAF Confederation Cup made their return namely Ramadan Sobhi, Abdallah El-Said, and Mohamed Hamdy.
Additionally, Trezeguet will probably make his first appearance under Queiroz after he has been declared fully fit by Aston Villa following his knee surgery.
Moreover, several foreign-based players have made the cut, namely Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, Mohamed Elneny, Ahmed Hegazi, Mostafa Mohamed, Ahmed Yasser Rayan, Ahmed Hassan Kouka, and Omar Marmoush.
However, Ipswich Town skipper Sam Morsy, Karim Hafez of Yeni Malatyaspor, and Anorthosis Famagusta’s star Amr Warda have all failed to make the cut.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Mohamed El-Shennawy (Al Ahly), Mohamed Fawzi (Ismaily SC), Mohamed Sobhi (Pharco FC), Mohamed Abogabal (Zamalek), Mahmoud Gad (ENPPI).
Defenders: Ayman Ashraf, Akram Tawfik, Mohamed Hany (Al Ahly); Ahmed Fatouh, Mahmoud Alaa, Mahmoud Hamdy El-Wensh (Zamalek); Mohamed Abdelmoneim, Omar Kamal (Future FC); Ahmed Yassin (Bank Al Ahly); Ahmed Ramadan Beckham (Smouha SC); Mohamed Hamdy (Pyramids FC); Marwan Daoud (ENPPI); Mohamed Fathallah (Ghazl El-Mahalla); Ahmed Hegazi (Ittihad Jeddah).
Midfielders: Amr El-Sulya, Hamdi Fathi, Mohamed Magdy Afsha (Al Ahly); Emam Ashour, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Mostafa Fathi (Zamalek); Abdallah El-Said, Nabil Emad ‘Dunga’, Ibrahim Adel, Ramadan Sobhi (Pyramids FC); Mohanad Lasheen (Tala’a El-Gaish); Ahmed Refaat (Future FC); Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal).
Forwards: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool); Mostafa Mohamed (Galatasaray); Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet (Aston Villa); Omar Marmoush (VfB Stuttgart); Ahmed Hassan Kouka (Konyaspor); Ahmed Yasser Rayan (Altay SK); Marwan Hamdi (Smouha); Mohamed Sherif (Al Ahly).
Egypt were drawn in Group D of the AFCON alongside Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, and Nigeria. The Pharaohs are set to start their journey against the latter on 11 January.
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