The Pharaohs missed out on Qatar 2022 despite Salah’s brilliance. Four years later, Africa’s most decorated footballing nation gets another chance.
Egypt’s absence from the 2022 World Cup was one of the sport’s cruelest ironies: eliminated in the playoff by Senegal, the very team inspired by Sadio Mané, on penalties — with Mohamed Salah, arguably the best African player of his generation, left watching the tournament from home.
Egypt’s football pedigree needs no introduction on the continent: seven AFCON titles, more than any other nation, and a fanbase as passionate as any in Africa. But translating that continental dominance into World Cup success has proven elusive — Egypt’s last appearance, in Russia 2018, ended in three straight defeats.
2026 is being framed as one more chance to change that story, with Salah now in the later stages of a career that has redefined what an African forward can achieve at the top of the European game. Whether this is the tournament where Egypt’s World Cup pedigree finally catches up to its continental one is the storyline every Egyptian fan will be watching.