Egypt beat Senegal to boost World Cup qualification hopes

Egypt began the fourth window of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup African qualifiers with a 76-67 victory over Senegal in Dakar.

The result moved Egypt up to 11 points in Group ?, with the Pharaohs currently fifth in the standings. Senegal remain second on 12 points after the opening game of the latest phase of qualifying.

The fourth window is being staged in the Senegalese capital from 27 to 30 August, with Egypt now preparing for two more matches in the qualification campaign.

Egypt’s next fixture is against Cote d’Ivoire on Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 15:30 local time. The result will be important for Egypt as they attempt to move into a position from which they can secure a place at the 2027 World Cup.

The group also includes Angola, Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, alongside Egypt, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire. The teams are competing in a home-and-away format during the qualifying process.

At the end of the group stage, the group winners and runners-up will qualify automatically for the World Cup. The best third-placed team from the two groups will also advance to the finals.

That leaves Egypt needing to finish in one of the top two positions to guarantee direct qualification. If they cannot achieve that, they must at least secure third place and then hope their record is good enough to make them the best third-placed side.

The victory over Senegal gives Egypt a valuable lift as they continue their push, although they remain three points behind the Senegalese in the table. Their remaining games in the fourth window will determine whether they can close the gap and improve their qualification position.

Egypt head coach Agusti Bosch selected a 12-player squad for the African qualifiers. The final roster consists of Amr El Gendy, Ehab Amin, Ibrahim Zahran, Omar El Sheikh, Mohamed Taha, Adam Moussa, Ali Omar, Patrick Gardner, Omar Tarek, Hamdy Fathy, Khaled Abdel Nasser and Anas Osama.

The squad will now turn its attention to Cote d’Ivoire and the Saturday meeting, with Egypt aiming to build on a winning start in Dakar and strengthen its chances of reaching the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.