Group D rivals Egypt and Mali announce final AFCON squads

Enoh Eyong of Cameroon (l) challenged by Bakary Sako of Mali during the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations football match between Mali and Cameroon at Malabo Stadium, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on 20 January 2015

by Staff Reporter

Thursday Jan 05, 2017. 10:00

Mali and Egypt – who will meet in their opening Group D match at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations on January 17 – have both announced their final squads for the tournament.

Pharaohs coach Hector Cuper named a 27-man preliminary squad last Thursday which he has now trimmed to 23 as per CAF regulations.

The quartet to miss out is Hamada Tolba, Ahmed Gomaa, Mohamed Awad and Mohamed Ibrahim.

Meanwhile, Mali have also submitted a final list of 23 players. Coach Alain Giresse has left out Adama Traore (the Middlesbrough player, not the Monaco one of the same name who remains in the squad) as he trimmed his preliminary squad of 26.

Egypt final 23-man squad:

Goalkeepers: Ahmed El-Shennawy (Zamalek), Essam El-Hadary (Wadi Degla), Sherif Ekramy (Al Ahly)

Defenders: Ahmed Fathi (Al Ahly), Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City – England), Mohamed Abdel-Shafy (Al-Ahli – KSA), Karim Hafez (Lens – France), Ahmed Hegazy (Al Ahly), Saad Samir (Al Ahly), Ahmed Dweidar (Zamalek), Ali Gabr (Zamalek), Omar Gaber (Basel – Switzerland)

Midfielders: Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal – England), Tarek Hamed (Zamalek), Ibrahim Salah (Zamalek), Abdallah El-Said (Al Ahly), Amr Warda (Panetolikos – Greece), Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City – England), Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’ (Royal Mouscron – Belgium)

Forwards: Ahmed Hassan ‘Koka’ (Braga – Portugal), Marwan Mohsen (Al Ahly), Mahmoud Abdel-Moneim ‘Kahraba’ (Al-Ittihad – KSA), Mohamed Salah (AS Roma – Italy)

Mali final 23-man squad:

Goalkeepers: Soumaila Diakité and Djigui Diarra (Stade Malien de Bamako), Oumar Sissoko (Orléans, France)

Defenders: Ousmane Coulibaly (Panathinaikos, Greece), Hamari Traore (Reims, France), Molla Wagué (Udinese, Italy), Salif Coulibaly (TP Mazembe, DR Congo), Mohamed Oumar Konaté (RS Berkane, Morocco), Mahamadou N’Diaye (Troyes, France), Youssouf Koné (Lille, France)

Midfielders: Yves Bissouma (Lille, France), Mamoutou N’Diaye (Royal Antwerp, Belgium), Lassana Coulibaly (Bastia, France), Yacouba Sylla (Montpellier, France), Samba Sow (Kayserispor, Turkey), Adama Traoré (AS Monaco, France), Sambou Yatabaré (Werder Bremen, Germany)

Forwards: Moussa Marega (Vitória Guimarães, Portugal), Kalifa Coulibaly (Gent, Belgium), Moustapha Yatabaré (Karabukspor, Turkey), Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace, England), Moussa Doumbia (Rostov, Russia)