Egypt’s manager, Javier Aguirre has named his 25-man preliminary squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, with star forward Mohamed Salah included.
The host nation are seeking to extend their record of eighth continental titles on home soil. Egypt kick off the tournament against Zimbabwe on June 21 in Cairo, before facing DR Congo and Uganda.
Aguirre announced his preliminary squad on Tuesday, with a couple of surprises. There was a recall for Arab Contractors 33 year old forward, Ahmed Ali, who last represented Egypt eight years ago. He is the highest goal scorer this season in the Egyptian top flight league with 18 goals.
Al Ahly’s Waleed Soliman, the 34 year old midfielder also makes his return to the national team after 3 years out.
Eight foreign based players were invited by Aguirre, which includes Liverpool star Salah and Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny.
The team will gather in Borg El Arab from June 6, and play friendly matches against Tanzania and Guinea scheduled for June 13 and June 16 respectively.
Egypt’s Squad
Goalkeepers: Ahmed El Shennawy, Mohamed El Shennawy, Mohamed Abou-Gabal, Mahmoud Abdel Rehem “Genesh”
Defenders: Ahmed Elmohamady, Ahmed Hegazi, Omar Gaber, Ali Gazal, Ayman Ahsraf, Mahmoud Hamdy, Baher Elmohamady, Ahmed Ayman Mansour, Mahmoud Alaa, Ahmed Abou-Elfotouh
Midfielders:Walid Soliman, Abdallah El Said, Mohamed Elneny, Tarek Hamed, Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan, Amr Warda, Nabil Emad
Forwards: Ahmed Ali, Mohamed Salah, Marwan Mohsen, Ahmed “Kouka” Hassan.
