Nantes star Mostafa Mohamed a surprise omission from Egypt's 2026 World Cup squad
Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah will captain the squad and combine with Manchester City's Omar Marmoush to lead the attack at the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19 in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Coach Hossam Hassan will drop one player to reduce the squad to the FIFA-mandated 26 players after Egypt take on Russia in Cairo on May 28 in their last home friendly before heading to the United States.
Mohamed was a surprise omission, even if he has struggled for form with only four goals in 24 matches this season for Nantes as the French club were relegated from Ligue 1.
Abdelkarim, by contrast, has been in great form for the Barcelona youth team and is one of the most promising forward talents in Egyptian football.
Egypt will play Brazil in a friendly in Cleveland on June 6 before opening their World Cup campaign against Belgium in Seattle nine days later.
They then face New Zealand in Vancouver on June 21 before returning to Seattle five days later to round out their Group G matches against Iran.
Egypt squad:
Goalkeepers: Mohamed El Shenawy (Al Ahly), Mostafa Shobeir (Al Ahly), El Mahdi Soliman (Zamalek), Mohamed Alaa (El Gouna)
Defenders: Mohamed Hany (Al Ahly), Tarek Alaa (Zed), Hamdy Fathy (Al Wakrah), Rami Rabia (Al Ain), Yasser Ibrahim (Al Ahly), Hossam Abdelmaguid (Zamalek), Mohamed Abdelmonemn (Nice), Ahmed Fatouh (Zamalek), Karim Hafez (Pyramids)
Midfielders: Marwan Ateya (Al Ahly), Mohanad Lasheen (Pyramids), Nabil Emad (Al Najma), Mahmoud Saber (Zed), Ahmed Zizo (Al Ahly), Emam Ashour (Al Ahly), Mostafa Ziko (Pyramids), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Al Ahly), Ibrahim Adel (Nordsjaelland), Haissem Hassan (Real Ovideo)
Forwards: Omar Marmoush (Manchester City), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Aqtay Abdallah (Enppi), Hamza Abdelkarim (Barcelona U19)