On Friday, the Egyptian national first football team coach Hossam Hassan announced the 25-man squad for the upcoming 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Botswana and Cape Verde.
Egypt have already qualified for the finals of 2025 AFCON in Morocco, therefore, Hassan inducted new faces to the national team's squad, in addition to sidelining Mohamed Salah from November's international break fixtures.
Smouha's defender Mahmoud Ahmed Rabia and Ceramica Celopatara's winger Mahmoud Abdel Hafiz Zalaka made their first appearances on the national team list.
Moreover, Al Ahly's winger Taher Mohamed Taher made his first return to the national team for the first time in more than 5 years after his outstanding performance with the Reds since the beginning of this season. He scored five goals and made seven assists with Al Ahly through all competitions with his club.
On the other hand, several key players were sidelined due to injuries, mainly Nice's defender Mohamed Abdel Moneim and Ahly's Rami Rabia, Yasser Ibrahim, Mohamed Hany, and Emam Ashour, in addition to Al Zamalek's Ahmed El Sayed Zizo.
Egypt are scheduled to face Cape Verde in the fifth round of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers on Friday, after that they will host Botswana for the sixth round.
The full names of the upcoming fixtures are:
Goalkeepers: Mohamed El Shenawy, Mostafa Shobeir (Ahly), Mohamed Awad (Zamalek) and El Mahdi Soliman (Ittihad of Alexandria).
Defenders: Ahmed Ramadan (Ceramica Cleopatra), Hossam Abdel Maguid, Mohamed Shehata (Zamalek), Hamdy Fathy (Al Wakrah, Qatar), Mohamed Ahmed Rabia (Smouha), Mohamed Hamdy Sharaf (Pyramids), Ahmed Nabil Kouka (Ahly), Ahmed Eid (Masry).
Midfielders: Mahmoud Saber, Mostafa Fathi, Ibrahim Adel (Pyramids FC), Omar Kamal, Marwan Attia, Taher Mohamed Taher (Ahly), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Al Rayyan, Qatar), Nabil Emad, Nasser Maher (Zamalek), Omar Marmoush (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Mahmoud Abdelhafiz Zalaka (Ceramica Celopatara).
Forwards: Mostafa Mohamed (Nantes, France) and Osama Faisal (NBE Club).
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