Profile on Egypt team for 2021 Africa Cup of Nations

Factbox on African Cup of Nations qualifiers Egypt

African Cup of Nations

Previous appearances in finals: (24) 1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2017, 2019

Best performance: Winners 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010

Drawn in Group D with Guinea Bissau, Nigeria and Sudan. - - -

Coach: Carlos Queiroz

The vastly experienced 68-year-old took over in September and returns for a second Cup of Nations finals after taking South Africa to the 2002 quarter-finals.

He has also been coach of his native Portugal, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Colombia.

Queiroz had a stint in charge of Real Madrid and was assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

After taking over as Egypt coach he steered them to the World Cup playoffs in March and a semi-final spot at the Arab Cup in December.

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Key player: Mohamed Salah. Age: 29. Forward.

There will be much expectation on the Liverpool forward's shoulders as Egypt look to make up for the disappointment of an early exit when they hosted the last Cup of Nations in 2019.

He has won two African Footballer of the Year awards in a career that has included spells at Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina and Roma.

Salah made his international debut in 2011 and has won 73 caps.

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FIFA world ranking Dec 2021: 45

How they qualified: Top placed team in Group G, ahead of the Comoros Islands, Kenya and Togo.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed Abo Gabal (Zamalek), Mohamed El Shennawy (Al Ahly), Mahmoud Gad (ENPPI), Mohamed Sobhy (Pharco)

Defenders: Mohamed Abdel Monem (Future), Mahmoud Alaa (Zamalek), Ayman Ashraf (Al Ahly), Mahmoud Hamdi (Zamalek), Mohamed Hamdi (Pyramids), Ahmed Fatouh (both Zamalek), Ahmed Hegazy (Al Ittihad Jeddah), Omar Kamal (Future), Akram Tawfik (Al Ahly)

Midfielders: Ibrahim Adel (Pyramids), Emam Ashour (Zamalek), Abdallah El Said (Pyramids), Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Amr El Sulaya, Hamdi Fathi (both Al Ahly), Mohanad Lasheen (El Geish), Omar Marmoush (VfB Stuttgart), Ahmed Sayed (Zamalek), Ramadan Sobhi (Pyramids), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Aston Villa)

Forwards: Marwan Hamdi (Smouha), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Mohamed Sherif (Al Ahly), Mostafa Mohamed (Galatasaray).