Africa: Egypt Squad for FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Has Familiar Look to It

(file photo)

Egypt's squad for their FIFA World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia on Friday and then Sierra Leone next week has a familiar look about it, save for the omission of the Egyptian Premier League's top scorer Emam Ashour.

The 27-year-old Al Ahly midfielder has scored nine goals this season but did not make coach Hossam Hassan's 24-man squad for the two Group A matches.

Egypt will be looking to keep up, or even extend, their four-point lead in the standings, as they take on Ethiopia in Casablanca, Morocco and then host Sierra Leone in Cairo next Tuesday.

Egypt have 10 points in Group A, with Guinea-Bissau on six and Burkina Faso on five in third place.

The Egyptian squad includes a first call-up for the 31-year-old National Bank of Egypt goalkeeper Abdelaziz El Balouti.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed Awad (Zamalek), Abdelaziz El Balouti (National Bank of Egypt), Mohamed El Shenawy, Mostafa Shobeir (both Al Ahly)

Defenders: Hossam Abdelmaguid (Zamalek), Mohamed Abdelmoneim (Nice, France), Ahmed Eid (Zamalek), Mohamed Hani, Rami Rabia (both Al Ahly), Khaled Sobhi (Al Masry

Midfielders: Marwan Attia (Al Ahly), Nabil Emad (Zamalek), Hamdy Fathy (Al Wakrah, Qatar), Ahmed Nabil (Al Ahly), Mahmoud Saber (Pyramids), Mohamed Shehata, Ahmed Zizo (both Zamalek)

Forwards: Ibrahim Adel (Pyramids), Osama Faisal (National Bank of Egypt), Mostafa Fathi (Pyramids), Omar Marmoush (Manchester City, England), Mostafa Mohamed (Nantes, France), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, England), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Al Rayyan, Qatar).

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