Ali Maher has begun his tenure as Egypt head coach by appointing the coaching team that will work with him as the Pharaohs prepare for their next Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures.
The Egyptian Football Association confirmed the new staff on Sunday, a day after ending Hossam Hassan’s time in charge and handing responsibility to Maher. The decision followed a meeting of the association’s board to discuss the latest developments surrounding the national team.
Maher’s backroom team will include Mohamed Abdel Karim as assistant manager and Bassem Ali as assistant coach. Mostafa Fathi has been appointed goalkeeper coach, while Mahmoud Selim and Abdel Rahman El-Zoghby will work as performance analysts.
Diego Giacchino and Wael Raafat will be responsible for physical-load planning as part of the new coaching structure.
The appointments come with Egypt preparing for two meetings with Malawi in the third and fourth rounds of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The Pharaohs’ training camp is scheduled to begin on 9 November at the National Teams Centre.
Egypt will host the first match at Cairo International Stadium on 13 November. The two sides will then meet again on 17 November at Bingu International Stadium in Malawi, with that fixture forming part of the fourth round of the qualifying competition.
Egypt are in Group B alongside Angola, South Sudan and Malawi. They currently lead the section with four points, ahead of second-placed Angola on goal difference.
Malawi are third with three points, while South Sudan sit bottom without a point.
Egypt opened their qualifying campaign with a goalless home draw against Angola. They responded in their next match by securing a convincing 5-0 away victory over South Sudan.
Maher’s first matches in charge will therefore come against a Malawi side positioned third in the group, with the two fixtures set to shape the early standings before the remaining qualifying matches.
