Al-Ahly is Egypt’s secret weapon and gives Pharaohs an edge in the World Cup.

A Spanish press release confirmed that Egypt, in their first match of the 2026 World Cup against Belgium, showed themselves to be a strong and organized team characterized by cohesion and teamwork.

He said Spanish “AS” newspaper.The Egyptian team has a secret weapon that gives the Pharaohs a competitive edge at the World Cup, which is that they have a large number of Al-Ahly players in the national team.

He noted that the Egyptian team It includes eight Al-Ahli players led by technical director Hossam Hassanwho previously played for the Cairo club during his career as a player.

This factor is an important addition from a competitive point of view, as having a group of players used to playing together at one club can be an effective weapon in a tournament full of individual talent.

Against Belgium, Egypt started five Al-Ahly players – Mustafa Schubert, Mohamed Han, Yasser Ibrahim, Marwan Atiyah and Emam Ashour – with three others on the bench – Mohamed El-Shenawy, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet and Ahmediz Mostafla.

AS noted that this clearly reflects the philosophy adopted by the Pharaohs, which is to shine as a collective system and make the most of advantages that not all teams have.

The 2025-2026 Africa Cup of Nations, which runs from late 2025 to early 2026, also saw a strong presence of Al-Ahly players as Egypt’s national team camp in Morocco included nine of the club’s international players as part of their bid for the title.

This intense presence of Al-Ahly players is an additional success for the club, which participated in the 2025 Club World Cup.

Al-Ahly received roughly €100,000 for each player called up to the national team during the group stage, and that amount is likely to increase if Egypt continue their path to the knockout stages.

“AS” added. “The link between the success of the Egyptian national team and the contribution of the country’s biggest club was not new at all, but this success comes on this occasion, given that the presence of Al-Ahly players is the backbone of the Pharaohs.

“This backbone includes Schubert in goal, Hani and Yasser Ibrahim in defense, and Marwan Attia and Imam Ashour in midfield, in a system that does not rely entirely on stars Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, despite their status as the most famous stars of the Egyptian national team.”