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2026 World Cup: After initial denial, Egypt heading to Seattle

Mohamed Salah, center, of Egypt speaks with his teammates in a huddle Sunday during the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026 Group G match between New Zealand and Egypt at BC Place in Vancouver, B.C. (Getty Images)
By Tim Booth Seattle Times

Despite its initial request being denied, Egypt will get a couple of days in Seattle before its final FIFA Men’s World Cup group stage match against Iran.

FIFA’s official calendar noted Tuesday that the Egyptians will hold a training session on Wednesday night in Seattle. Previously, the Pharaohs did not have a practice scheduled in Seattle until Thursday, the day before the match with Iran.

The situation around Egypt popped up on Monday after team officials noted they had asked to spend the entire week in Seattle before the match, instead of returning to the team’s base camp in Spokane at Gonzaga University. The request was turned down by FIFA, citing local security officials saying they were “unable to deploy the necessary resources in time for the last-minute demand, as other events and activities were already planned to take place in the city on the same dates.”

It appeared to be primarily a logistics issue as to why the Egyptian request was denied. The match on Wednesday between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar had priority in terms of practice fields and times, hotels and security.

The timing of when Egypt is scheduled to train in Seattle on Wednesday night comes several hours after conclusion of the Bosnia-Qatar match at Seattle Stadium.

In its statement about why Egypt’s request was turned down, FIFA noted the team base camps remain in place until the day before the round of 32 match for all teams. After that, teams are able to bounce around to cities and venues immediately after their matches as they continue to advance.

For example, the United States is already set to play in the round of 32 in Santa Clara, California, on July 1. Should it win, the U.S. would play the round of 16 in Seattle on July 6 and could choose to come to the Northwest immediately after the round of 32 game should they want.

The winner between Egypt and Iran will automatically qualify for the knockout stage, and a win by the Pharaohs would give them first place and a spot in the round of 32 match in Seattle on July 1.