Egypt breaks the rule… an unprecedented decision that causes controversy ahead of the World Cup

Historical precedent for the pharaohs

The Egyptian national football team made an unprecedented decision in the history of the World Cup, becoming the first team to take this step before the start of the North American tournament.

Egypt announced its final 26-man roster for the World Cup, including four goalkeepers (Mustafa Schubert, Mohamed El-Shenawi, El-Mahdi Soliman and Mohamed Alaa), becoming the first team to field this number of goalkeepers in a tournament as short as the World Cup, according to Spanish outlet Sport.

The decision sparked controversy, especially after similar controversy erupted in Spain when Luis de la Fuente decided to field 4 goalkeepers for the final friendlies, before the Spanish coach reduced his squad to 3 for the World Cup, excluding Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro.

 

🗒️🔴|: The technical staff of the Egyptian national football team, led by Hossam Hassan, published the final list of 26 players for the 2026 World Cup to be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico between June 11 and July 19.

The list was as follows.

Muhammad El-Shenawi
Mustafa Schubert
Mahdi… pic.twitter.com/sNj3fMabH0

— EFA.eg (@EFA) May 29, 2026

Confirming the participation of a Barcelona player

On the other hand, the final list confirmed the participation of Barcelona youngster Hamza Abdel Karim after coach Hossam Hassan left striker Aktay Abdullah out of the preliminary list.

This makes it 100% certain that the blue-and-red player will be in attendance for his first World Cup appearance, where he will play alongside international stars such as Mohamed Salah and Manchester City striker Omar Marmouche.

Hamza Abdel Karim made his first major international debut as he made his debut for the Pharaohs in their World Cup friendly against Russia last Thursday, replacing Real Oviedo’s Haitham Hassan in the 86th minute.

Departure for America and final preparations

The director of the Egyptian national team, Ibrahim Hassan, has confirmed that the Pharaohs’ delegation will leave today, Saturday evening, for the United States for final preparations to participate in the World Cup.

Egypt’s national team will play their final friendly against Brazil on June 6 in Ohio, before taking on Belgium, Iran and New Zealand in Group Seven.

It is noteworthy that the tournament will be held for the first time in history in the USA, Canada and Mexico with the participation of 48 teams.

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