Egypt is returning to the World Cup stage after a long absence. With Mohamed Salah, one of the world’s best players, the Pharaohs have a true global star in their ranks. Manager Hossam Hassan guided the team through a strong qualifying campaign. The opening match against Belgium will be a real challenge.
Egypt's goalkeepers at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Manager Hossam Hassan has named three goalkeepers for the Pharaohs: Mohamed El Shenawy, Mostafa Shobeir and Mohamed Alaa. Egypt are taking part in the World Cup for the third time, following appearances in 1934 and 1990. In Group D, they face Argentina, Qatar and Canada. The trio of goalkeepers brings together a captain and club legend, the son of a former national goalkeeper, and a 26-year-old keeper from the Egyptian league, who is making his debut in a major tournament squad.
El Shenawy is 37 years old, was born in El Hamool in the province of Kafr El Sheikh, and has been with Al Ahly, the most successful club on the African continent, since 2016. What he has achieved since then is remarkable: eight Egyptian league titles, four CAF Champions League titles, four Egyptian Cups and the captain’s armband since 2020. With 74 international caps since his debut in 2018, he is by far the most experienced goalkeeper in the squad.
His path to this point has been long and winding: Al Ahly’s youth academy, released in 2009, years at Tala’ea El Gaish, Haras El Hodoud on loan and Petrojet, before finding his way back to Al Ahly in 2016. There he became a club legend. At international level, he has featured in all of Egypt’s recent tournaments, including the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where Egypt were eliminated in the group stage. The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco also ended in the group stage, but El Shenawy started in every match. This season, he has made 15 league appearances for Al Ahly and was still in action in the CAF Champions League in March 2026. El Shenawy is Hossam Hassan’s first and only choice.
Mohamed El Shenawy football boots
Shobeir is 26 years old, was born in Giza and is the son of Ahmed Shobair, a former Egyptian international goalkeeper. He literally grew up with gloves on his hands and came through the entire Al Ahly academy, the country’s number one since childhood. At Al Ahly, he has been competing for the starting spot behind El Shenawy for years and is the designated number two. He made his international debut at the end of 2024. The 2025 AFCON was his first major tournament in the squad. Standing at 191 cm tall and training daily behind one of Africa’s most experienced keepers, he has an unusually deep tactical understanding. When El Shenawy eventually retires, Shobeir will be waiting.
Mostafa Shobeir football boots
Soliman is 38 years old, from Cairo, and one of the longest-serving goalkeepers in the Egyptian Premier League. His career spans almost two decades: ENPPI, Petrojet, Ghazl El Mahalla, Smouha, four years at Pyramids and three at Al Ittihad Alexandria, before he moved to Zamalek in July 2025 and signed a contract there until 2027. With Zamalek, he won the 2025/26 Egyptian championship this season as the backup to first-choice goalkeeper Mahmoud Gehad. Since his first call-up to the national team in 2016, he has been a regular in Egypt’s squad without ever having played an official senior international match. The 2026 World Cup would be his first major tournament squad at this level.