Salah leads Egypt at African Cup of Nations

CAIRO : Mohamed Salah will lead Egypt at the African Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, skippering a 27-man squad named by coach Rui Vitoria.

The group includes all but two of the starting line-up for the last Cup of Nations final two years ago, when Egypt lost on penalties to Senegal in Yaounde.

But there is a first call-up for 22-year-old Ahmed Nabil Kouka, who in June helped Egypt’s under-23 side qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics and also played for Cairo giants Al Ahly at this month’s Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Egypt compete in Group B at the tournament in the Ivory Coast, starting their campaign in Abidjan against Mozambique on Jan. 14. They also meet Ghana and the Cape Verde Islands in their opening round group.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed Abou Gabal (National Bank), Ahmed El Shennawy (Pyramids), Mohamed El Shennawy (Al Ahly), Mohamed Sobhi (Zamalek)

Defenders: Mohamed Abdelmoneim (Al Ahly), Ahmed Fatouh (Zamalek), Ali Gabr, Osama Galal, Mohamed Hamdy (all Pyramids), Mohamed Hany (Al Ahly), Ahmed Hegazi (Al Ittihad), Omar Kamal (Future), Ahmed Samy (Pyramids)

Midfielders: Emam Ashour, Marwan Attia (both Al Ahly), Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Hamdi Fathi (Al Wakrah), Mahmoud Hamada (Al Masry), Ahmed Nabil Kouka (Al Ahly), Ahmed Zizo (Zamalek)

Forwards: Mostafa Fathi (Pyramids), Mahmoud Kahraba (Al Ahly), Ahmed Hassan Kouka (Pendikspor), Omar Marmoush (Eintracht Frankfurt), Mostafa Mohamed (Nantes), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Trabzonspor).

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Hugh Lawson)