15 Greatest Egypt Players in Football History [Ranked]

Writing has always been Josh's way of expressing his deep enthusiasm for sports, and this new path allows him to bring a fresh and honest perspective to his work.

He also gains valuable experience as a volunteer match reporter for the Loughborough Foxes WFC. Covering live events has helped Josh improve his storytelling skills and given him a closer insight into the game. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account Egypt is a land of history, landmarks and cultural importance. Alexandria, the country's second-largest city, located at the western edge of the Nile River delta, housed one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. A hive of knowledge and power, it's no wonder that Egypt's empirical stature spread into many facets of modern life.

For the North African nation, it's clear that their methodological approach and thirst for knowledge has seeped down to football, as Egypt presents itself as one of the continent's bastions of ability. Egypt is Africa's oldest national football team, and proudly holds a record seven Africa Cup of Nations victories. The Pharoahs, as they're aptly nicknamed, have made multiple appearances in the World Cup and were the first-ever African and Middle Eastern team to make such an appearance.

The country have had some legendary and talented players turn out for them over the years, including current Liverpool star Mohamed Salah. But where does he rank among the 15 greatest Egyptian players in football history?

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During his time in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt, Omar Marmoush was considered one of the best strikers on the planet. 15 goals and 10 assists in the first half of the 2024/2025 season caught the attention of Manchester City, who paid £59 million for his services.

Despite minutes with City being harder to come by than they were in Germany, the Cairo-born forward has scored some impressive goals since his arrival. He suits up for his country alongside Mohamed Salah and gives Egyptian fans a lot to be excited about going forward, and he'll be hoping that his talent can lead his country to a first AFCON title since 2010.

A two-time winner of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (2008, 2010), where he played in a third final in 2017, Ahmed Elmohamady is ranked 11th in our rankings. Having initially started his career as a centre-forward, it was as a right-back that he finally exploded onto the scene.

Transferred from Egyptian club ENPPI to Sunderland in 2010 (on loan), the Pharaohs international went on to spend more than ten years playing in the Premier League and Championship, alternating between promotions and promotions during his English years. During this European adventure, he also played for Hull City and Aston Villa, with whom he will retire in 2021 before becoming one of the club's ambassadors.

Mohamed Diab Al-Attar, also known as Ad-Diba, is one of the greatest African players of all time. The attacking leader of Al-Ittihad Alexandria Club, he made history by finishing top scorer in the inaugural season of the Egyptian Premier League in 1948.

A club with which he spent his entire career before, in 1958, he swapped his football boots for those of a referee in a post-career that occupied some twenty years of his life. On the international front, he was a member of the Egyptian team that won the 1957 African Cup of Nations, where he also finished as Golden Shoe winner.

Mohamed Diab Al-Attar's international career

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Mahmoud Al-Gorahy is remembered as the first man in history to win the African Cup of Nations as both a player and a coach. The first of these successes came in 1959, two years after the Egyptians' first triumph and almost 40 years before he lifted the prestigious trophy as a manager.

Unfortunately for him, his career on the field was shorter than he had expected, as knee problems prevented him from completing what many had thought was a promising adventure. And so it was after just six years with Al Ahly, with whom he won numerous titles, including five championships, that he finally decided to retire.

Mahmoud Al-Gohary's international career

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It would certainly have been difficult to compile this list without also including the first African goalscorer in the history of the World Cup. Abdulrahman Fawzi, a legend on the Egyptian national football scene whose career with Al-Masry and Zamalek is still remembered, made history at the 1934 World Cup.

At that tournament, he not only became the first player from the continent to find the net, but also the first to score twice. This impressive feat was achieved against Hungary, who might even have conceded a third goal had Fawzi not had his effort disallowed for a more than debatable offside position.

Abdulrahman Fawzi's international career

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Here is a true cult striker. Mohamed Zidan was an excellent forward for both club and country, yet it's his domestic career that sees him feature. He ventured through eight different teams and it all began when he left Egypt for Denmark as a young player. Zidan developed a knack for finishing, as well as positional awareness and fine dribbling, and progressed from Akademisk Boldklub to FC Midtjylland before scoring exploits saw him move to the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen.

Zidan and the Bundesliga just clicked, and he embarked on an eight-year stay that reaped a DFL-Ligapokal in 2006 with Bremen, and back-to-back league titles with Borussia Dortmund in 2010/11 and 2011/12. Sandwiched between those accolades were Zidan's two mercurial stints at Mainz with 22 goals in 41 games, before a third saw him score seven goals in 12.

Perhaps a prelude to the German's famous relationship with another Egyptian forward, it's no wonder Jurgen Klopp held the second striker in such high regard. Under Klopp's stewardship, Zidan scored a total of 36 goals and registered 14 assists in 118 games split across both Mainz and Dortmund.

Internationally, the striker who had a penchant for coloured hair - when he wasn't clean-shaven - scored 13 goals in 44 games and could've flourished further had it not been for his fallings out within the national team set-up. The striker still won two Afcon titles with his country though, and played a keen part too - scoring his side's second goal in the semi-finals of the 2010 edition as Egypt demolished Algeria 4-0.