2026 WCQ: Egypt edge resilient Sierra Leone

A dominant Egypt side defeated Sierra Leone by a 1-0 score in matchday six from 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying on Tuesday evening at the Cairo International Stadium.

The Pharaohs, who dominated the game from the blast of the whistle, pinned the Leone Stars down forcing coach Mohamed Kallon’s men to resort to defending for large parts of the encounter.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah could have shot the Pharaohs ahead but his left footed strike went a fraction wide off the post on the 13th minute mark. Egypt continued mounting pressure on the West African nation with perfect passing skills in the middle of the park and attack.

The Leone Stars however came close to scoring in the 40th minute when captain Kei Camara’s header went off the head of Mohamed Abdelmonem for a corner kick which the Leone Stars failed to utilize.

Egypt finally broke the deadlock in added time of the first half. An excellent exchange from midfield resulted in a perfect through pass from Trezeguet for Ahmed Sayed Zizo, who made no mistake in planting the ball behind the net for their opener.

The solitary strike was the deciding factor between the two nations heading into the half time break. Back from recess, Egypt continued their dominance when another good pass for Omar Marmoush from Salah went slightly off Sierra Leone’s goal post.

Marmoush in turn became the provider, setting up Salah but the Liverpool attacker missed the opportunity to increase the tally on the 57th minute mark. Egypt, per the slim 1-0 victory, stretch their point total in Group A to sixteen points - five points better than second placed Burkina Faso.

Sierra Leone remain 3rd on 8 points with Ethiopia and Guinea-Bissau sitting 4 with 6 points and Djibouti one a single point.

Group A Table (6 matches played)

• The group winners qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

• Four of the nine group runners-up qualify for a playoff to determine Africa's representative at the intercontinental qualifying playoff.