Egypt vs Russia

Egypt marked their final pre-tournament friendly with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Russia in Cairo, with substitute Mostafa Zico delivering the decisive blow with a close-range header that settled an otherwise cautious affair. Zico broke the deadlock in the 65th minute, nodding home a cross from Mohamed Hany to reward his side's patience. Omar Marmoush had been Egypt's most inventive presence before that, creating chances without converting, while Russia's Miranchuk threatened after coming off the bench but was kept at bay. Aleksey Batrakov and Artem Karpuka both collected yellow cards for the visitors as frustrations mounted in the closing stages. The result gives Egypt a timely boost ahead of their 2026 World Cup opener against Belgium on June 16, even with Mohamed Salah absent from the lineup after only joining the squad days earlier. For Russia, excluded from the World Cup, it was a largely academic exercise that ended in defeat.