Seven Victories and a Lone Surprise: What Does the Egyptian National Team Offer in the World Cup Qualifiers Opener?

The Egyptian national team enters the Djibouti match in the opening of its matches in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup with high morale, especially since it is accustomed to winning in the first round matches.

The Egyptian national team will host Djibouti next Thursday at the Cairo Stadium in the first round of the African qualifiers for the first edition of the World Cup with the participation of 48 teams.

The Egyptian national team has participated in the World Cup qualifiers 15 times before facing Djibouti on Thursday, winning the first match 12 times, with 3 defeats, while not experiencing any draws.

The victories of the Egyptian national team in the opening rounds have been significant, as it has won twice by a score of 7-1.

On the other hand, the record of the Egyptian national team in the opening rounds has not been devoid of unpleasant surprises, as it lost to Chad in the qualifiers for the 2018 edition, but the remarkable thing is that this time is only one of 3 times, ultimately qualifying for the finals.

The Egyptian national team also lost to Italy in the qualifiers for 1954 and Morocco in the qualifiers for 1982.

In the following, “Yalla Kora” reviews the results of the Egyptian national team in the first match of each participation in the World Cup qualifiers throughout history:

– 1934
– Won against Palestine 7-1 in March 1934

– 1954
– Lost to Italy 1-2 in November 1953

– 1974
– Won against Tunisia 2-1 in December 1972

– 1978
– Won against Ethiopia 3-0 in October 1976

– 1982
– Lost to Morocco 0-1 in April 1981

– 1986
– Won against Zimbabwe 1-0 in August 1984

– 1990
– Won against Liberia 2-0 in January 1989

– 1994
– Won against Angola 1-0 in October 1992

– 1998
– Won against Namibia 7-1 in November 1996

– 2002
– Won against Mauritius 2-0 in April 2000

– 2006
– Won against Sudan 3-0 in June 2004

– 2010
– Won against Democratic Republic of Congo 2-1 in June 2008

– 2014
– Won against Mozambique 2-0 in June 2012

– 2018
– Lost to Chad 0-1 in November 2015

– 2022
– Won against Angola 1-0 in September 2021