Group: G — Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand

How they Qualified: Egypt topped CAF Group A and sealed qualification with a game to spare by beating Djibouti 3-0 on October 8, 2025. They finished the campaign unbeaten at 8-2-0, with 20 goals scored and only 2 conceded.

Best World Cup Finish: Group Stage (1934, 1990, 2018)

Transfermarkt Roster Value: $163.21 M

FIFA Rank: 31

Odds to Win Group: +450

Odds to Advance: -340

Odds to Win Cup: 300-1

Key Players:

  • Mohamed Salah — Winger — Liverpool (Premier League). Salah is still the face of the team and the player everything revolves around. He scored nine goals in qualifying, became the all-time top scorer in African World Cup qualifying, and Reuters reported this week that although he picked up a muscle injury, he is still expected to be fit for the World Cup.
  • Omar Marmoush — Forward — Manchester City (Premier League). Marmoush gives Egypt a second elite attacking threat that past Egyptian sides often lacked. Transfermarkt lists him as Egypt’s most valuable player at $76.6m, and he scored in the AFCON quarterfinal win over Ivory Coast and in the March 4-0 friendly win over Saudi Arabia.
  • Mohamed El Shenawy — Goalkeeper — Al Ahly (Egypt). El Shenawy remains a key part of Egypt’s identity. Egypt kept seven clean sheets in qualifying, and the veteran keeper has logged 74 caps.

Playing Style and Outlook

Egypt do not look like a team that wants to dominate matches through long spells of possession. Their recent competitive matches point much more toward a side built on structure, patience, and attacking quality in big moments. In recent matches they have used a mix of 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-4-3, and 3-4-2-1, which suggests Hossam Hassan has been willing to change the shape while keeping the same basic approach.

The bigger constant is how the games have looked. Egypt won qualifiers by scores of 2-0, 1-0, 2-0, 0-0, 3-0, and 1-0, then went to AFCON and beat South Africa 1-0, Benin 3-1 after extra time, and Ivory Coast 3-2 before losing 1-0 to Senegal and then falling to Nigeria on penalties in the third-place game. Against Ivory Coast, Reuters noted that Egypt won despite Ivory Coast dominating possession, and against Spain in March Reuters said Egypt held on for a 0-0 draw while Spain controlled the ball and fired 25 shots. That is a pretty clear picture of what this team is: compact, disciplined, and dangerous when Salah or Marmoush get space to attack.

That makes Egypt one of the more credible teams in this range. They are not flashy, but they have a real attacking pair in Salah and Marmoush, a veteran spine, and a draw that gives them a genuine path forward. Belgium are still the favorite in Group G, but Egypt are widely priced as the likeliest team to finish second ahead of Iran and New Zealand. They are probably not built for a deep run, but they are absolutely good enough to make the knockout stage and become awkward for whoever sees them next.