Kouka, Morsy Return as Ehab Galal Names Foreign-Based List for AFCON Qualifiers

Egypt manager Ehab Galal has announced his first-ever foreign-based players’ list set to face Guinea and Ethiopia in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers.

Following the departure of Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, Ehab Galal was named as the new Egypt manager just last April and the AFCON qualifiers will be his opening games.

The Pharaohs are placed in Group D alongside Guinea, Malawi, and Ethiopia, with the top two teams reaching the finals in the summer of 2023 in the Ivory Coast.

Egypt will first host Naby Keita’s Guinea on June 2 in Cairo, before travelling to face Ethiopia four days later on June 6.

Players such as Mohamed Salah, Mohamed Elneny, Mahmoud Trezeguet, and Omar Marmoush were all included in the 12-man Pharaohs abroad squad for both games as expected.

The quartet have been in impressive form this season, with Salah helping Liverpool to the FA Cup title just a few days ago, while Marmoush guided VfB Stuttgart to Bundesliga safety in the last round.

Ittihad Jeddah star Ahmed Hegazi has also made the squad despite being out of action since picking up an injury against Morocco in the quarter-finals of the last AFCON on January 30.

The EFA’s original squad announcement didn’t include the towering defender, but just a few minutes later a new statement confirmed that Hegazi will be present for the two games.