Preview:Egypt vs. Guinea-Bissau - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh off Mohamed Salah's inspired performance to secure Egypt's spot in the 2026 World Cup, the North African giants return to action on Sunday, keen to finish qualifying with maximum points against Guinea-Bissau.

The Pharaohs have little to play for except finishing the series unbeaten, while their opponents can end no higher than third after the penultimate round's loss to Ethiopia.

Match preview

Salah may be struggling to influence games for Liverpool, but there were no such issues against minnows Djibouti in World Cup 2026 qualifying, with the forward netting twice to confirm the North African nation’s participation in next year’s tournament.

By scoring his brace in the 3-0 victory, the Pharaohs captain moved to 20 goals overall in World Cup qualifiers, surpassing the joint African record of 18 goals held by Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o, Moumouni Dagano and Islam Slimani.

Aiming to add to that tally, the 33-year-old forward could lead Hossam Hassan’s troops out in Cairo, where the home team hopes to avoid defeat to end their campaign without losing.

They enter the final round undefeated after winning seven of their nine matches in Group A, scoring 19 goals and conceding just two, thus accruing 23 points from a possible 27.

Only Tunisia (25) have accumulated more points than the seven-time African champions, who have ultimately appeased fans after missing out on the global finals in Qatar.

Aiming to prevent Egypt from making it five wins out of five in home games are Guinea-Bissau, whose faint hopes of finishing runners-up were dashed in the previous round of matches.

Djurtus needed to beat Ethiopia and hope for a favourable Sierra Leone result against Burkina Faso to head into the 10th round of fixtures with a slight chance of finishing below the group winners.

However, a defeat at the hands of the Ethiopians and the Stallions' 1-0 victory over the Leone Stars mean that Luis Boa Morte's team can only fight to finish third in Group A.

The outcome could even be worse for the fourth-placed team, who are one point above Ethiopia in fifth, indicating the possibility of slipping down one position if they drop points in Cairo and the nation just below them manage to defeat Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou.

Other than that, Sunday's match at the Cairo International Stadium is effectively a dead rubber, with neither side having much to play for except minimal gains.

Egypt World Cup Qualifying - Africa form:

Egypt form (all competitions):

Guinea-Bissau World Cup Qualifying - Africa form:

Guinea-Bissau form (all competitions):

Team News

Salah has scored nine goals in qualifying, one more than Algeria's Mohamed Amoura, Mali's Kamory Doumbia and Gabon's Denis Bouanga, and the Liverpool star may add to his tally if he is not rested on Sunday.

Egypt's Trezeguet had scored five goals before the penultimate round, but the former Aston Villa player could not increase his tally in the victory over Djibouti. The Al Ahly star did assist in the 3-0 win in the ninth round of matches, bringing his total goal contributions to seven, though that is significantly fewer than Salah’s 12.

Hamdy Fathy is suspended for the North African nation after receiving his second booking in qualifying and could be replaced in the starting XI by Mohanad Lasheen.

With leading scorer Mama Balde (two goals) missing and top assist maker Alfa Semedo absent, Guinea-Bissau failed to add to their eight goals in the series last time out.

Everton forward Beto did feature in the loss to Ethiopia, playing 90 minutes, and he aims to contribute more than just another booking in Cairo.

Egypt possible starting lineup:

Shobeir; Hany, Rabia, Koka; Attia, Lasheen; Zizo, Salah, Trezeguet, Adel; Mohamed

Guinea-Bissau possible starting lineup:

Balde; Rodrigues, Mane, Cande, Nanu; Nhaga, Gomes, Camara; E. Balde, Beto, Tchami

We say: Egypt 2-0 Guinea-Bissau

While Egypt may be likely to ease off on Sunday, the Pharaohs’ aim to secure qualification without losing should see Hassan’s men seal a routine victory at the expense of the Dromedaries.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.