Bafana’s Group B opponents: Egypt among favourites as they gun for eighth Afcon title

Two-time African Footballer of the Year Mohamed Salah has had a glittering career, but the one major prize missing from the Liverpool and Egypt striker’s cabinet is an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) gold medal. Ironically this is a trophy the Pharaohs have won a record seven times.

As the 35th edition of Afcon kicks off in Morocco on December 21, with the help of their talisman Salah, Egypt will be expected to top Group B, where their nearest rivals could be South Africa, a team the Pharaohs have beaten twice in three previous meetings at Afcon finals.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan, a legend in Egyptian football, has selected a 28-man squad with huge experience and talent, and is mixing it with a handful of emerging stars as they also look to build a strong momentum ahead of the 2026 Fifa World Cup they will be part of in June and July next year.

How they qualified

There was never a doubt about Egypt’s qualification for Morocco as they went unbeaten in Group C, which included Botswana, Mauritania and Cape Verde.

The Pharaohs topped the group with 14 points after winning four and drawing two of their qualifiers in a campaign in which they scored 12 goals and conceded two.

Botswana finished as runners-up and qualified alongside Egypt with eight points as Cape Verde, probably concentrating on eventually successfully qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, finished at the bottom with four points.

Star players

There’s no doubt Salah will remain Egypt’s star player and a heavy load will be on his shoulders alongside Manchester City attacker Omar Marmoush. However, overall the Egyptian team is full of stars mainly based in Egypt playing for giants including Al Ahly, Zamalek, Pyramids and Al Masry.

Hassan picked four goalkeepers, namely Ahly’s legendary skipper Mohamed Al Shenawy, Ahmed Al Shenawy (Pyramids FC), Mostafa Shobeir (Al Ahly) and Mohamed Sobhi (Zamalek).

The defence is led by experienced campaigners Mohamed Hany (Al Ahly) and Ahmed Fatouh (Zamalek).

There are players with creativity and versatility in midfield with Hamdi Fathi (Al Wakrah) and Mohanad Lasheen (Pyramids) anchoring the engine room, while Imam Ashour (Al Ahly), Ahmed Sayed Zizo (Al Ahly) and Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet (Al Ahly) bringing attacking skills.

Strikers Mostafa Mohamed (Nantes), Salah Mohsen (Al Masry) and Osama Faisal (National Bank of Egypt) will be expected to provide or score goals alongside Salah and Marmoush.

The coach

Hassan succeeded Rui Vitoria in February 2024 after a disappointing Afcon in Ivory Coast, where Egypt were knocked out in the last 16. The three-time winner of Afcon and legendary striker is Egypt’s all-time leading scorer and has done well in qualifying the team for the Afcon and the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan during their international friendly against Nigeria in Cairo. (Mohamed Hossam/EPA/BackpagePix)

The 59-year-old Hassan’s biggest task is to ensure Egypt live up to their reputation in Morocco by winning the cup for the record eighth time and for the first time since 2010 after coming close twice in 2017 and 2021, when they lost to Cameroon and Senegal in the final respectively.

Egypt beat Nigeria 2-1 in their final preparation match at Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday before heading for Morocco.

Key statistics

Head-to-head with Bafana: The teams have met 12 times since 1996, with Bafana winning seven, Egypt winning four and one match ending in a draw. Interestingly, the Pharaohs and Bafana have played three times against each other in Afcon tournaments with Egypt winning in a group stage match in 1996 (when South Africa ended champions on home soil) and victorious again in the final in Burkina Faso in 1998. Bafana had the last laugh against Egypt when they shocked them as hosts in the last 16 in front of 80,000 supporters at Cairo International in 2019, with Thembinkosi Lorch scoring a memorable goal.
World ranking: 34
Africa ranking: 3
Afcon appearances: 26
Previous Afcon performance: 1957 (champions); 1959 (champions); 1962 (runners-up); 1963 (semifinals); 1970 (semifinals); 1974 (semifinals); 1976 (semifinals); 1980 (semifinals); 1984 (semifinals); 1986 (champions); 1988 (group stage); 1990 (group stage); 1992 (group stage); 1994 (quarterfinals); 1996 (quarterfinals); 1998 (champions); 2000 (quarterfinals); 2002 (quarterfinals); 2004 (group stage); 2006 (champions); 2008 (champions); 2010 (champions); 2017 (runners-up); 2019 (last 16); 2021 (runners-up); 2023 (last 16)