Egypt is returning to the World Cup stage after a long absence. With Mohamed Salah, one of the best players in the world, the Pharaohs have a true global superstar on their team. Coach Hossam Hassan led the team through a strong qualifying campaign. The first match against Belgium will be a real challenge.
Egypt's goalkeepers at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Coach Hossam Hassan has named three goalkeepers for the Pharaohs: Mohamed El Shenawy, Mostafa Shobeir, and Mohamed Alaa. This marks Egypt’s third appearance in the World Cup, following their previous appearances in 1934 and 1990. In Group D, they will face Argentina, Qatar, and Canada. The trio of goalkeepers includes the captain and club legend, the son of a national team goalkeeper, and a 26-year-old goalkeeper from the Egyptian league making his first major tournament squad appearance.
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 appearances since his debut in 2018, he is by far the most experienced goalkeeper on the squad.
His path to this point was long and winding: Al Ahly 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. On the international stage, he was part of all of Egypt’s recent tournaments, including the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where Egypt was eliminated in the group stage. The 2025 AFCON 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 Soccer Cleats
Shobeir is 26 years old, was born in Giza, and is the son of Ahmed Shobair, a former Egyptian national team goalkeeper. He literally grew up with gloves on his hands and went through the entire Al Ahly academy, the country’s top club since his 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 national team debut in late 2024. The 2025 AFCON was his first major tournament on the squad. Standing 191 cm tall and training daily behind one of Africa’s most experienced goalkeepers, he has an unusually deep tactical education. When El Shenawy eventually retires, Shobeir will be waiting.
Mostafa Shobeir Soccer Cleats
Soliman is 38 years old, hails from Cairo, and is one of the longest-serving goalkeepers in the Egyptian Premier League. His career spans nearly two decades: ENPPI, Petrojet, Ghazl El Mahalla, Smouha, four years with Pyramids, and three with Al Ittihad Alexandria, before he moved to Zamalek in July 2025 and signed a contract there through 2027. With Zamalek, he won the 2025–26 Egyptian Championship this season as the backup to starting goalkeeper Mahmoud Gehad. Since his first national team call-up 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 mark his first major tournament squad at this level.