AFCON 2025: All you need to know about Egypt
Exit in the round of 16 at 2023 edition, Egypt could be vindicated this year. The Pharaohs run behind their 8th coronation in the competition. Since the last victory in 2010, in Angola, the Egyptian team has experienced a long desert crossing. They came close with two finals lost in 2017 and 2022. Propelled by the inevitable Mohamed Salah, this team will be on Moroccan soil to try to go all the way.
Philemon MBALE · Author profile ·
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The country
Capital: Cairo
Area: 1 001 450 km2
Population: 105,174,090
Official language: Arabic
Inhabitants: Egyptian/ Egyptian
Motto: «Silence and patience, freedom, socialism, unity»
Team nickname: The Pharaohs
Egypt and the AFCON
Titles: 7
Finals: 10
Participations before AFCON 2025: 26
Host Country: 5 (1959, 1974, 1986, 2006, 2019)
Course at the AFCON
1957: winner
1959: winner
1962: finalist
1963: 3rd
1970: 3rd
1974: 3rd
1976: semi-finalist
1980: 4th
1984: 4th
1986: winner
1988: eliminated in the first round
1990: eliminated in the first round
1992: eliminated in the first round
1994: quarter-finalist
1996: quarter-finalist
1998: winner
2000: quarter-finalist
2002: quarter-finalist
2004: eliminated in the first round
2006: winner
2008: winner
2010: winner
2017: finalist
2019: eighth runner-up
2021: finalist
2023: eighth runner-up
Assessment at the AFCON
111 matches played
60 victories
24 draws
27 defeats
172 goals scored
95 goals conceded
Mohamed Salah, the last chance
Obviously at his almost last chance to try to win a silver wear with Egypt, Mohamed Salah does not arrive in the best conditions. The right wing is in open conflict with his leaders and no longer has any playing time. He started the last games on the bench at Liverpool. In the Champions League, he did not travel to Italy for the match won against Inter Milan.
From December 15, Salah will leave the tense atmosphere in Liverpool to start preparations for AFCON 2025. The player has a multiple revenge to take. He has already lost two finals. In addition, during the last edition, he left his partners due to an injury.
15 years after the last victory at the continental stage, the Pharaohs will be expected to portray magic in a familiar environment: Moroccan soil. The team will be able to rely on the duo Salah - Marmoush to explode the opposing defenses in order to go all the way. Returning to Cairo with the 8th star is the ultimate goal.
Hossam Hassan under pressure before AFCON 2025
Hossam Hassan, selector of the Pharaons
In February 2024, after a failed attempt in 2023 and a knockout in the round of 16, the Egyptian Football Federation (EFA) sacked Rui Vitoria and appoints Hossam Hassan. A legend of Egyptian football and the best scorer in the history of the Pharaohs (68 goals in 176 games), he was called up to allow the team to return to the forefront. More than a year after his arrival, the results speak in his favor although the game produced is criticized.
Egypt qualified for the 2026 World Cup and is one of the favorite teams to win in Morocco. As for the coach, he has a record of 10 wins, 4 draws, 1 defeat in 15 matches. He totally changed the face of the Pharaohs by incorporating young players. Between criticism and a better result expected at the African Cup of Nations, Hossam Hassan is under pressure.
The Egyptian team will battle for supremacy in group B with Angola, South Africa and Zimbabwe. They take on to the pitch against the Zimbabweans on Monday, December 22, 2025 at 20:00 GMT, in Agadir.