Lamine Yamal & Mohamed Salah to go head-to-head! Spain and Egypt set to play friendly clash after seeing Finalissima showdown against Argentina is cancelled

According to Spanish outlet Marca, Egypt have officially accepted an invitation from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to play a friendly on March 31. The Pharaohs' head coach, Hossam Hassan, approved the proposal to face Luis de la Fuente’s European champions in Spain. This agreement rescues the international window for both nations after their scheduled friendly tournament in Doha, Qatar, was cancelled. The Egyptian Football Association confirmed they are finalising travel arrangements to test themselves against La Roja, with Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah expected to be the star attraction. A venue is expected shortly.

Before finalising the agreement with the North African side, the RFEF had already acted swiftly to secure a crucial fixture against Serbia on March 27. This match will take place at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, giving local fans a chance to see the national team. Serbia found themselves in the exact same predicament as Spain, having been left without fixtures due to the sudden collapse of the Qatari event. By accepting the Spanish invitation, the Balkan nation salvaged their break and will now play two warm-up games against Spain and Saudi Arabia ahead of their competitive cycle.

On Sunday, UEFA announced the cancellation of the 2026 Finalissima between Spain and Argentina, originally scheduled for March 27 in Qatar. The governing body stated that the current political situation in the region made it impossible to host the event. Fans missed out on seeing Lamine Yamal face his idol, Lionel Messi. Despite UEFA exploring multiple alternatives - including a Santiago Bernabeu fixture, a two-legged tie, or a neutral European venue - Argentina rejected all options. The South Americans, who won the previous edition by beating Italy 3-0, counter-proposed playing exclusively on March 31, which proved unfeasible for Spain.

With the March friendlies fully resolved, both nations will use these upcoming fixtures as their final preparation before the 2026 World Cup in North America. De la Fuente's squad were drawn into Group H, where they will face a diverse set of opponents. La Roja will begin their campaign against Cape Verde, before taking on Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. Meanwhile, Egypt find themselves in an intriguing Group G. Salah and his teammates will open their tournament against European heavyweights Belgium and face New Zealand. They were supposed to take on Iran in between those games, but their withdrawal from the competition has complicated the situation.