Egypt World Cup 2018 profile: Guide to record, squad list, team news, latest odds, path to final and star man

EGYPT come into their first World Cup finals since 1990 full of hope - and with arguably the best Premier League player this season in their ranks.

It was Mo Salah's dramatic penalty against Congo that sealed the most incredible of qualifications.

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Here's all you need to know about the Group A side.

In a nutshell: The first African country to ever qualify for the World Cup Finals when they did it in 1934, the North Africans are back in the tournament for the first time since 1990.

Flag: Red, white and black horizontal tricolour, embellished with the majestic eagle of Saladin.

Population: 95.69 million

Nickname: Kneel before The Pharoahs!

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Manager: You’ll know the name Hector Cuper.

He’s been the boss of Valencia, Inter Milan and Parma and has now been with the Egyptian national team for three years.

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Captain: Get this.

The Egyptian skipper is goalkeeper Essam al-Hadary.

Nothing unusual in that you might think until you check his age – he’s 45!

Star Man: There is one player that is head and shoulders above every other Egyptian player and that is the modern day miracle that is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

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Rising Star: You may have already clocked Ramadan Sobhi playing on the wing for Stoke this season.

The 21-year- old has won 19 caps for his country.

Most caps: Bizarrely, El-Hadary’s 156 caps is not the record.

That belongs to Ahmed Hassan with a staggering 184 appearances.

All-time top scorer: Hossam Hassan (70)

Nice kit? Tidy. Made by adidas, it’s in their traditional red with black trim around the collar and the sleeve ends.

Most offensive haircut? Sometimes, when Arsenal’s Mohamed El Neny has got a beard it’s as though hair engulfs his entire face.

Any names we can laugh at like kids? Maybe Amr ‘Havin’ a’ Marey or how about Mostafa Fathi? You’re right. We do need to grow up.

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Rivals? Though they like a rumble with Morocco and Cameroon, it’s the game against North African rivals Algeria that stirs the blood most for Egyptian fans.

National anthem: Bilady, Bilady, Bilady. Not bi-lady, bi-lady, bi-lady which is a different thing entirely.

Sample lyric:
Egypt! Most precious gem,
A blaze on the brow of eternity!
O my homeland, be for ever free,
Safe from every enemy

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National dish: Take some rice, lentils, onions, macaroni and spices and you have koshari, the national dish of Egypt. Obviously there’s some cooking involved too.

National drink: Tea – or shai – by the bucketload.

World Cup Finals Record: P4 W0 D2 L2 F3 A6

World Cup Win Ratio: 0%

Best World Cup Performance: They’ve never made it past the group stages. In fact, they’ve never even won a game at the finals.

FIFA World Ranking: 44

Path to final: Egypt will hope to pip Russia to second place in Group A but will also believe they can win the group ahead of Uruguay if luck is with them.

In the likely scenario that they finish runners-up, they can expect an extremely tough run in the knockout stages, facing Spain in round two, followed by Argentina in the quarter-finals, and potentially Germany in the semis.