In one of the clashes of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the last competition’s runners-up Egypt face continental giants Ghana in Group B.
It was a disappointing start to this year’s tournament for both nations. Egypt stumbled to a 2-2 draw with Mozambique in their AFCON opener, a country 78 places below them in the FIFA rankings. If it wasn’t for Mohamed Salah’s stoppage-time penalty, the record seven-time winners would have come away with nothing from their first match.
Meanwhile, Ghana lost 2-1 to Cape Verde in their first AFCON game, Garry Rodrigues capitalising on some woeful defending to win it for the 73rd-best side in world football in stoppage-time. Four-time winners Ghana will have to be much improved to get anything from their clash with Egypt on Thursday.
Here is all you need to know about the intriguing tie.
Egypt vs Ghana H2H record (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
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United Kingdom |
BBC Three, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Web, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, Sky Ultra HD, Sky GO, Sky GO Extra |
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United States |
beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, Fanatiz USA, beIN SPORTS en Español |
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Canada |
beIN SPORTS CONNECT Canada, beIN Sports Canada, beIN SPORTS en Espanol, fuboTV Canada, Fanatiz Canada |
Rui Vitoria has a completely fit squad at his disposal, giving him licence to name a similar lineup to the one that drew with Mozambique.
The Pharaohs will rely heavily on captain Salah for the encounter with Ghana. The Liverpool winger is his nation’s main goal threat. Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny will likely start in midfield, while Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush could potentially come into the team on the left-hand side of the front three in place of ex-Aston Villa attacker Trezeguet.
Mostafa Mohamed, who scored the opener against Mozambique, will lead the line for Egypt, with the Nantes forward having been in strong form this term.
Egypt predicted lineup (4-3-3): El Shenawy; Hany, Monem, Hegazy, Hamdi; Fathi, Zizo, Elneny; Salah, Mohamed, Trezeguet.
The big miss for former Brighton manager Chris Hughton in Ghana’s opener was West Ham United forward Mohammed Kudus. The 23-year-old could potentially return for the Egypt clash and may have to be rushed back from his hamstring issue.
Ghana still have plenty of quality in their ranks, including Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew, Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo and Monaco’s Mohammed Salisu.
Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey missed out on the Black Stars’ AFCON squad due to injury.
Ghana predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Ofori; Odoi, Djiku, Salisu, Mensah; Ashimeru, Iddrisu; Paintsil, Konigsdorffer, Ayew; Williams.
Given that Egypt currently sit 28 places above Ghana in the FIFA rankings, they will be favourites for this Group B clash. The Pharaohs are unbeaten in the two sides’ last four meetings, winning three of them.
Both teams boast plenty of individual quality, with Ghana’s chances of a result dramatically improving should Kudus be fit enough to feature. However, Egypt should have enough in the tank, especially if they can capitalise on the porous rearguard that cost the Black Stars against Cape Verde.
Prediction: Egypt 2-1 Ghana
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