Cuper names Egypt squad for Tunisia clash

Egypt coach Hector Cuper has named a 25-man squad for the Group J Day One clash against Tunsia away in Tunis on Sunday.

Cuper relied largely on the same squad that reached the 2017 Total Africa Cup of Nations final last February in Gabon with the Argentine calling up all but four from the 23-man squad.

The list includes six new names that didn't make it to Gabon earlier this year. Defender Ramy Rabia of the domestic champions Al Ahly makes a return to the squad after missing the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations through an ankle injury.

Teammates Amr Gamal and Hossam Ashour are also back, the later getting his first call-up in four years. Despite having the record for most international matches at club level, (134 matches with Ahly), 31-year old Ashour has just 12 caps with the Pharaohs, with the last dating back to 2013.

Other newcomers are Zamalek youngster Mostafa Fathi, domestic league top scorer Ahmed El Sheikh who plays for Misr El Makassa, and England-born Sam Morsy who plays for League One side, Wigan Athletic.

The Pharaohs are gauging their readiness for the North African derby with a training camp in Alexandria, before departing for Tunis on Friday.

Meanwhile, midfielder Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’ has been ruled out of the clash after suffering an injury in camp.

Niger and Swaziland completes Group J and will meet earlier on Saturday 10 June in Niamey.

Full Squad

Goalkeepers: Essam El Hadary (Wadi Degla), Sherif Ekramy (Al Ahly), Ahmed El Shennawy (Zamalek)

Fixtures

Group A

9.06.2017      Obeid            Sudan vs Madagascar

10.06.2017    Dakar            Senegal vs Equatorial Guinea

Group B

10.06.2017    Yaounde        Cameroon vs Morocco

10.06.2017    Lilongwe        Malawi vs Comoros

Group C

10.06.2017    Bamako         Mali vs Gabon

10.06.2017    Bujumbura    Burundi vs South Sudan

Group D

11.06.2017    Blida              Algeria vs Togo

11.06.2017    Cotonou         Benin vs Gambia

Group E

9.06.2017      Cairo             Libya vs Seychelles

10.06.2017    Uyo               Nigeria vs South Africa

Group F

10.06.2017    Freetown       Sierra Leone vs Kenya

11.06.2017    Kumasi          Ghana vs Ethiopia

Group G

10.06.2017    Kinshasa        DR Congo vs Congo

11.06.2017    Harare           Zimbabwe vs Liberia

Group H

10.06.2017    Bouake          Cote d’Ivoire vs Guinea

11.06.2017    Bangui           Central African Rep. vs Rwanda

Group I

10.06.2017    Ouagadougou Burkina Faso vs Angola

10.06.2017    Francistown   Botswana vs Mauritania

Group J

10.06.2017    Niamey          Niger vs Swaziland

11.06.2017    Tunis             Tunisia vs Egypt

Group K

10.06.2017    Ndola            Zambia vs Mozambique

10.06.2017    Bissau           Guinea Bissau vs Namibia

Group L

10.06.2017    Praira                      Cape Verde vs Uganda

10.06.2017    Dar es Salaam          Tanzania vs Lesotho