Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has called up Barcelona forward Hamza Abdelkarim for the upcoming international window. The Pharaohs will begin their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign with three matches against Angola, South Sudan, and South Africa.
Hossam Hassan said: "Hamza Abdelkarim is an important player with a future, and he has been selected for this crucial period." This call-up comes as the national team faces limited options in the striker position, with the squad featuring only Abdelkarim and Omar Marmoush as recognised forwards.
Growing Importance
Fans can track the team's full journey on our standings page.
This call-up is a natural progression for a player who already featured at the last World Cup, logging 57 minutes across four appearances. His growing stature is also reflected by Barcelona, who increased his release clause from €15 million to €150 million. Abdelkarim continues to train with Hansi Flick's senior squad, with the club planning his development with Barça Atlètic while he remains in the first-team training group.
Egypt enter these qualifiers with a solid defensive record in their current campaign, having scored 5 goals and conceded 3 for a +2 goal difference. Their most recent result was a 3-2 defeat to Argentina on July 7th, part of a recent form sequence reading: loss, draw, draw, win, draw (LDDWD).
The first step on this new path comes on September 25th, when the Pharaohs host Angola at home in the opening round of AFCON qualifiers. All upcoming match dates can be found on our fixtures page. The team will be without several players including Mahmoud Trézéguet, Mohamed El-Shenawy, and Yasser Ibrahim, with updates available on our injuries list. Preparations for the opener conclude with Abdelkarim remaining in the national team camp until kick-off.
Background and full detail: sports.yahoo.com
