FIFA World Cup 2026: Mohamed Salah starts for Egypt against Australia
Jul 03, 2026
Texas [US], July 3 : Mohamed Salah has recovered from a hamstring injury and has been included for Egypt in their FIFA World Cup Round of 32 clash against Australia on Friday, providing a major boost after being considered doubtful earlier in the week.
The Liverpool forward trained with the squad in the lead-up to the match and has been declared fit to lead the attack, as per Reuters.
Omar Marmoush returns to the starting XI alongside Salah, replacing Mahmoud Trezeguet in attack. However, Egypt have been forced into defensive changes, with left-back Ahmed Fatouh and centre-back Mohamed Abdelmonem ruled out through injury.
Karim Hafez and Yasser Ibrahim come into the side, while Hamdy Fathy has recovered from injury to anchor the midfield, with Marawan Attia also starting.
Australia, meanwhile, have named an unchanged lineup from the side that drew with Paraguay in their final group-stage match.
Head coach Graham Arnold has retained the same XI despite making six changes for that fixture, although experienced forward Mathew Leckie remains unavailable due to injury.
Australia: Patrick Beach, Alessandro Circati, Jordan Bos, Connor Metcalfe, Aiden O'Neill, Aziz Behich, Nestory Irankunda, Harry Souttar, Cristian Volpato, Jackson Irvine, Lucas Herrington.
Egypt: Mostafa Shobeir, Mohamed Hany, Yasser Ibrahim, Rami Rabia, Karim Hafez, Hamdy Fathy, Marawan Attia, Mostafa Zico, Emam Ashour, Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush.
