Egypt vs Ethiopia Prediction, Preview, Predicted Lineups and Team News | FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, 2025

Egypt vs Ethiopia Preview

• Tournament: 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
• Date: Friday, 5th September 2025
• Kick-Off Time: 19:00 PM GMT
• Venue: Cairo International Stadium, Egypt

Egypt will be aiming to continue their perfect record in the group stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers when they face off against an unpredictable Ethiopia side in their next qualification game on Friday evening. The Egypt vs Ethiopia clash will take place at the Cairo International Stadium and will be a gripping clash where both sides push to get three points. Here is our Egypt vs Ethiopia Preview. For the Egyptian national football team, a few more victories will guarantee them a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They have picked up 16 points from their six qualification games so far, winning five of their six matches and scoring an impressive 14 goals in that period. They are unbeaten in their last 10 competitive matches and aim to extend that record in their upcoming clash. Hossam Hassan will be urging his side to maintain their momentum at the international stage by controlling the game precisely and maintaining utmost concentration. He will urge them to keep a sturdy defensive shape, but will focus on innovation with quick attacking moves and take their chances perfectly to take a step closer to World Cup qualification. The Ethiopian national football team face a stern challenge ahead if they aspire to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign. They have only been able to pick six games from as many matches so far in the group stages, winning only one game. Despite conceding just seven goals, they've also scored only seven times in six games and need to greatly amplify their efficiency to get a big win. Mesay Teferi will be urging his side to keep a really strong defensive shape for them to be able to survive the attacking onslaught from Egypt. Along with being defensively strong, he will need his players to be proactive and clinical in their attacking transitions to shock the hosts and get a precious result.

Egypt National Football Team News

Hossam Hassan has not been able to select his strongest squad for the upcoming games because of some injuries. Yasser Ibrahim (muscle) and Mohamed Abdelmonem (knee) are both out of action, while Mohamed Shehata is also out with a knock. Goalkeeper Abdelaziz El Balouti has gotten his maiden call-up to the Egypt national team.

Ethiopia National Football Team News

Mesay Teferi is going to have some absences from his squad for the upcoming games. He will be without Kitika Jima, who is unavailable due to an issue. Abubaker Nasir and Gatouch Panom have also been omitted from the squad, while Surafel Daganchew is another absentee from the squad.

Egypt vs Ethiopia Predicted Lineups

Here are our Egypt vs Ethiopia Predicted Lineups.

Egypt National Football Team Predicted Lineup (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Mohamed El Shenawi

Defenders: Mohamed Hany, Ramy Rabia, Hossam Abdelmaguid, Trezeguet

Midfielders: Ahmed Kouka, Marwan Attia, Zizo

Forwards: Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush, Mostafa Mohammed

Ethiopia National Football Team Predicted Lineup (3-5-2):

Goalkeeper: Abubekar Nura

Defenders: Ahmed Reshid, Ramkel James, Habtamu Tekeste, Bereket Desta, Yared Kassaye

Midfielders: Berkeret Wolde, Asrat Tonjo, Ahmed Hussein

Forwards: Abdulkerim Worku, Chernet Gugsa

Egypt vs Ethiopia Head-to-Head Record

There have been 19 matches to have taken place between these two sides in the past. Out of that, Egypt has won 13 times, and Ethiopia has only been able to win three games. In their last five matches, Egypt has won three games and Ethiopia has only managed one win.

Key Players to Watch in Egypt vs Ethiopia

Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

Mohamed Salah has had a bit of a shaky start to the 2025/26 Premier League campaign with Liverpool, only managing one goal in three games with by outperforming his 0.31 xG (expected goals). Salah will look to rediscover his magic with some compelling performances in the international break and will look to end his short goalless run against Ethiopia.

The Liverpool forward will look to torment their defenders with his slick, unpredictable movement to get the ball into all the prime scoring areas and utilize his ruthless finishing qualities to convert chances clinically and guide Egypt to another commanding win.

Bereket Desta (Ethiopia)

Even though Bereket Desta has only made two appearances for Ethiopia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, he has already made a significant impact in a short period. He scored a hat-trick and provided an assist in the last win over Djibouti, being a harassing threat in the opposition half.

Desta will, of course, need to be defensively really strong to help add more steel to his defensive setup and help them survive trouble. He will, however, look to be a troublesome figure on the counter-attack and take up any chances that come his way efficiently to stun Egypt and give his side a major edge.

Egypt vs Ethiopia Prediction

Even though both Egypt and Ethiopia might have won their last two games, there isn't an equal playing field in determining the quality of the two sets of players. Egypt are flying high on momentum and should dominate the majority of this upcoming game, having a lot of chances to score.

For Ethiopia, it'll be a case of trying to survive trouble and be prolific on the counterattacks. Even though there should be chances for both sides to win, Egypt have way too much quality and should get a pretty compelling win. Here is our Egypt vs Ethiopia prediction.

Predicted Score: Egypt 3-1 Ethiopia

Where to Watch Egypt vs Ethiopia Live?

Here we look at where to watch Egypt vs Ethiopia and the platforms to watch it in key regions around the globe.