Egypt’s first football team is preparing for a decisive confrontation outside the home, against its Burkina Faso team, next Tuesday evening, in the eighth round of the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup Finals, to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The expected match will be held at August 4 stadium in the Burkinabe capital, Oujadujo, at seven in the evening, Cairo time, in a meeting with a special nature at the technical and historical levels.
What is the last official meeting of the Burkina Faso team at home and among his fans?
What gives this confrontation a unique character, is that the Burkina Faso team is returning to play an official match at home and among its fans after an absence of more than 7 years and 10 months, specifically since November 14, 2017, when he played its last match at August 4 stadium against Cap Verde in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Over the past years, the team, nicknamed “horses”, was forced to compete in all its official international matches outside his country, due to the failure to match its playgrounds to international standards, as it moved between Morocco, Mali and Tanzania to host its opponents.
How did the August 4 stadium journey come from closure to renewal and hosting?
The ancient stadium has been closed since 2021, and underwent a comprehensive development process, before it was officially reopened on August 4, 2025, in the presence of a number of African football stars, and was adopted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to host international matches.
Consequently, the confrontation of Egypt and Burkina Faso will be the first official match to be held at the stadium of August 4 since its renewal, which adds to the match the public and moral dimensions, especially for the Burkini team, which “won outside the stadium” as some described, with his success in restoring his right to play at home.
What is Egypt’s position on qualifying for the World Cup?
The Egyptian team enters the meeting, leading the first group with 19 points, 5 points behind second -placed Burkina Faso (14 points). And winning means Egypt officially qualified for the World Cup 2026, two rounds before the end. As for the tie, it will bring the Pharaohs a lot of qualification and keep their fate with their hands. But the defeat will keep the competition up to the last two rounds, against Guinea Bissau and Djibouti in October.
Egypt 19 points
Burkina Faso 14 points
Guinea Bissau 9 points
Sierra Leone 7 points
Ethiopia 6 points
Djibouti is one point
