El Shennawy and Trezeguet return; debut call for Mamdouh as Maher starts his Egypt tenure with Malawi double header
Egypt’s newly appointed head coach Ali Maher announced his first squad, less than 24 hours after he was named The Pharaohs manager, with goalkeeper Mohamed Elshennawy and winger Mahmoud Trezeguet returning, while forward Mahmoud Mamdouh was handed his international debut call.
Maher, former Egypt and Al Ahly forward, whose training career includes spells with Pyramids, Al Masry, ENPPI and Ceramica Cleopatra among others, was named The Pharaohs head coach on Saturday, following the dismissal of legendary Hossam Hassan who guided Egypt to last summer’s FIFA World Cup last 16.
It was an immediate business for Maher as The Pharaohs are facing Malawi in TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations “PAMOJA 2027” qualifiers Group B double header. Egypt entertains “The Flames” in Cairo on 13 November before heading for Lilongwe for the reverse fixture four days later for the account of Matchdays 3 and 4.
The Pharaohs top Group B with 4 points, having had a home goalless draw with Angola before returning from South Sudan with a massive 5-0 win. Meanwhile Malawi lie third on three points, having beaten South Sudan at home 2-1, before falling 3-1 to Angola.
Captain and superstar Mohamed Salah leads The Pharaohs pack that saw return calls for Zamalek duo Mahmoud Hamdy and Mohamed Shehata and Pyramids’ Mahmoud Marei and Nasser Maher. Tottenham Hotspur’s Omar Marmoush, Celtic’s Haitham Hassan and Barcelona’s Hamza Abdelkarim lead The Pharaohs’ attacking pack.
Mahmoud Mamdouh, who plays as forward for Modern Sport, was handed his debut call after a stellar start to the Egyptian Premier League season that saw him topping the scorers’ charts with 8 goals in as many games.
Egypt squad for Malawi double header:
Goalkeepers: Mohamed El Shennawy (Al Ahly), El Mahdy Soliman (Zamalek), Mostafa Shobeir (Al Ahly), Mohamed Alaa (Ceramica Cleopatra)
Defenders: Mahmoud Hamdy "El-Wensh" (Zamalek), Hossam Abdelmeguid (Ludogorets Razgrad, Bulgaria), Ramy Rabiaa (Al-Ain, UAE), Mohamed Abdelmonem (Nice, France), Mahmoud Marei (Pyramids), Mohamed Hany (Al Ahly), Karim Hafez (Pyramids), Ahmed Fattouh (Zamalek), Tarek Alaa (Zed FC)
Midfielders: Marwan Attia (Al Ahly), Mohannad Lasheen (Pyramids), Mahmoud Saber (Pyramids), Mohamed Shehata (Zamalek), Nasser Maher (Pyramids), Ibrahim Adel (Nordsjælland, Denmark), Mahmoud Hassan "Trézéguet" (Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), Ahmed Sayed "Zizo" (Al Ahly), Haitham Hassan (Celtic, Scotland)
Forwards: Mohamed Salah (Trabzonspor, Turkey), Omar Marmoush (Tottenham Hotspur, England), Hamza Abdelkarim (Barcelona, Spain), Mahmoud Mamdouh (Modern Sport)