Egypt at the FIFA World Cup

Egypt national team at the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy

Egypt have qualified for the FIFA World Cup on three occasions, in 1934, 1990 and 2018.[1][2][3][4] With 2 draws and 5 losses, Egypt has never won a match in the World Cup finals. In 1934 Egypt became the first Arab and African team to play in the World Cup.[5]

When they qualified again in 1990, they became the team with the longest-ever gap between two FIFA World Cup matches: 56 years and 16 days had passed. This was surpassed in 2022 by the qualification of Wales for the first time in 64 years.

The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the World Cup Finals). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the finals.

Egypt national team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
Egypt's fans at the FIFA World Cup in Russia

The current[as of?] format of the finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final.[6]

  1. ^ "Ireland V Egypt 1990 World Cup". Soccer Ireland. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  2. ^ "Egypt Squad 1990 World Cup". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  3. ^ "Egypt Squad 1934 World Cup". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  4. ^ "Egypt Colours 1990 World Cup". Switchimage project. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  5. ^ "1934 World Cup Kits". Historical kits. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  6. ^ 2006 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage Archived June 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (PDF), FIFA.com. Retrieved on June 6, 2007.