Salah, Mahrez Face Final World Cup Bid As African Icons Seek Glory At 2026 Tournament

Two of Africa’s most celebrated football stars are grasping their last shot at World Cup glory as Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

The Egyptian ‘king’, Mohamed Salah, turns 34 this week and will captain the Pharaohs against Belgium in their opening match after a turbulent club season with Liverpool. Despite scoring twice in Egypt’s 2018 Russia campaign, Salah has never tasted victory at the World Cup and now seeks to end his international career on a high. With his Liverpool contract ending this season, former captain Ahmed Fathi believes Salah still has “unfinished business” on the world stage.

“We want to make people proud of us, and we will do our utmost,” Salah said ahead of the match-up.

Across North Africa, 35-year-old Riyad Mahrez is making his second World Cup appearance after Algeria missed the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. The Algerian captain has already declared this tournament his last, contributing 75 goals in 113 appearances for his nation. At Nelson-Mandela Stadium in Baraki, Mahrez and his teammates saluted Algerian supporters for the final time before departing for North America.

Mahrez will lead Africa’s fourth-highest-ranked side against world champions Argentina in their opening fixture, aiming to guide Algeria past the knockout stage for the first time since 2014, when they were eliminated by Germany.

Both players, two-time African Player of the Year winners who have transformed football in their respective nations, now face what may be their final chance to make an impact on the world’s biggest football stage.