Egypt National Football Team - History, Coaches and Facts

Egypt national football team throughout its early history, featuring moments from the 1928 Summer Olympics, the 1934 FIFA World Cup, and the team’s early Africa Cup of Nations triumphs in 1957 and 1959.

Main trophies

Player records

Stats

• Egypt World Cup history and records
• Egypt Africa Cup of Nations history

History

Early history

The Egyptian Football Association was established in 1921, helping to organise football in the country and develop the national team. Egypt became a FIFA member in the early years of international football and soon began competing against teams from Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Egypt made its first FIFA World Cup appearance at the 1934 tournament in Italy. They became the first African and first Arab team to appear at the World Cup. Egypt lost 4-2 to Hungary in their only match, with Abdelrahman Fawzi scoring both Egyptian goals.

The first AFCON titles

Egypt played an important role in the creation of African international football. When CAF was established in 1957, Egypt was one of the founding members alongside Sudan, Ethiopia and South Africa.

The first Africa Cup of Nations was also held in 1957, and Egypt became the first champions of the competition. They successfully defended the title in 1959, establishing themselves as one of the leading national teams in African football.

Winning on home soil

After the early success of the 1950s, Egypt went through periods when they struggled to maintain their position at the top of African football. They returned to the summit in 1986 when they hosted and won the Africa Cup of Nations.

Another important title followed in 1998 in Burkina Faso. The team defeated South Africa 2-0 in the final, with Ahmed Hassan and Tarek Mostafa scoring for Egypt.

The 2006 to 2010 golden era

Egypt's greatest period in modern African football came between 2006 and 2010. Playing at home in 2006, the Pharaohs won the Africa Cup of Nations after defeating Ivory Coast on penalties in the final.

Two years later, Egypt defended the title in Ghana. Mohamed Aboutrika scored the only goal in the final against Cameroon, giving Egypt their sixth continental championship.

The team completed an unprecedented three consecutive AFCON titles in 2010. Egypt defeated Ghana 1-0 in the final after Mohamed Nagy scored late in the match. This made Egypt the only country to win three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles.

Hassan Shehata coached Egypt throughout this remarkable period, while players including Ahmed Hassan, Essam El Hadary, Mohamed Aboutrika and Amr Zaki became important figures in the team.

Return to the World Cup

Egypt waited 56 years between their first World Cup appearance in 1934 and their second appearance in 1990. At the 1990 tournament in Italy, they drew 1-1 with the Netherlands and 0-0 with the Republic of Ireland before losing 1-0 to England.

The result against the Netherlands gave Egypt their first World Cup point. Magdi Abdelghani scored Egypt's goal from the penalty spot.

The Salah generation

Egypt returned to the World Cup in 2018 after another long absence. Mohamed Salah had become the central figure of the national team after establishing himself as one of the leading forwards in European football.

Salah scored against Russia and Saudi Arabia at the tournament, giving him two World Cup goals. Egypt lost all three group matches, but the qualification itself ended a 28-year wait for another World Cup appearance.

A historic 2026 World Cup

Egypt qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by finishing top of their qualifying group. The team went through qualifying unbeaten, recording eight wins and two draws while scoring 20 goals and conceding only two. Mohamed Salah scored nine goals during the qualifying campaign.

The 2026 tournament became a new chapter in Egypt's World Cup history. The Pharaohs recorded their first World Cup victory, reached the knockout stage for the first time and then advanced from the round of 32 after defeating Australia on penalties. They eventually lost 3-2 to Argentina in the round of 16.

FIFA World Cup results

Egypt have appeared at four FIFA World Cup finals. Their first appearance came in 1934, when they became the first African and first Arab team to play at the tournament. After long periods away from the competition, they returned in 1990, 2018 and 2026. Their 2026 campaign produced their first World Cup victory and their first appearance in the knockout stage.

World Cup record: 4 appearances, 12 matches, 1 win, 5 draws, 6 defeats, 13 goals scored and 19 conceded through the 2026 tournament.

Africa Cup of Nations results

Famous Egypt players

Egypt has produced many important players across different generations. Ahmed Hassan holds the national appearance record with 184 caps, while Hossam Hassan is the country's leading international goalscorer with 69 goals. Essam El Hadary, Mohamed Aboutrika, Hassan El Shazly, Amr Zaki and Mohamed Salah are also among the players strongly associated with different periods of Egyptian football history.

Egypt Football Coaching staff

Hossam Hassan is the current head coach of the Egypt national football team. He was appointed in February 2024, replacing Portuguese coach Rui Vitória. His brother Ibrahim Hassan joined the national team setup as director of the team.

Coaching history

Note: The historical list includes periods in which the national team was managed by committees or joint coaching arrangements rather than a single head coach. Hossam Hassan's current appointment began in February 2024.

External links

• Offficial Website

References

• https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/articles/fifa.com/en/articles/egypt-team-profile-history 
•  https://rsssf.org/miscellaneous/egy-recintlp.html 
•  https://www.cafonline.com/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt_national_football_team