Two of the most successful nations in the continent go head to head in Group B of the Africa Cup of Nations when Egypt take on Ghana at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny on Wednesday.
While both nations are favourites to make it out of the group on paper, a disappointing opening-day outing has put them under pressure to get the result here and we anticipate an action-packed contest.
Record seven-time African champions Egypt were on the cusps of one of the biggest upsets in the opening round of the 2023 AFCON as they found themselves trailing to Mozambique in the final minutes of stoppage time.
Ranked 111th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, Mozambique turned in a superb team performance as Witi and Clesio Bauque struck in a three-minute spell to cancel out Mostafa Mohammed’s first-half opener and put Os Mambas 2-1 up.
However, Liverpool star Mohamed Salah came up clutch for the Pharaohs as he kept his cool under pressure and converted his 97th-minute penalty to spare their blushes and force a share of the spoils.
Prior to that, Egypt were on a three-game winning streak — scoring 10 goals and keeping three clean sheets — a run which has seen them rise to first place in Group A of the World Cup qualifiers.
With Sunday’s result, Rui Vitoria’s men have gone six consecutive games without defeat across all competitions, claiming four wins and two draws since last September’s 3-1 friendly defeat against Tunisia, and will now look to avoid failing to win their opening two games at the AFCON finals for the first time in over three decades.
The last time Egypt failed to win their first two group-stage games at the tournament came in 1992, when they kicked off the campaign with a 1-0 loss to Zambia before suffering a 1-0 defeat against Wednesday’s opponents Ghana.
