Africa Cup of Nations: Egypt vs Ghana Live
Preview
Two of the most successful countries in the region will face off in Group B of the Africa Cup of Nations as Egypt and Ghana meet at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny. Despite being favored to advance from the group, both teams are feeling the heat after a disappointing start, making this upcoming match crucial. Expect an exciting and intense showdown.
Egypt, the seven-time Africa Cup of Nations champions, were close to experiencing a major upset in the opening round of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. They were trailing to Mozambique in the final minutes of stoppage time. Despite being ranked 111th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, Mozambique delivered an impressive team performance. Witi and Clesio Bauque scored within a three-minute span to overturn Mostafa Mohammed’s first-half goal and put Os Mambas 2-1 ahead. However, Mohamed Salah, the star player from Liverpool, saved the day for the Pharaohs by calmly converting a penalty in the 97th minute, securing a draw.
Before this match, Egypt had been on a three-game winning streak, scoring 10 goals and keeping three clean sheets, which propelled them to the top of Group A in the World Cup qualifiers. Following this result, Rui Vitoria’s team has gone six games unbeaten in all competitions, with four wins and two draws since their 3-1 friendly defeat against Tunisia in September. They now aim to avoid failing to win their first 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 was in 1992, when they suffered a 1-0 loss to Zambia and a 1-0 defeat against Ghana.
The Black Stars had a successful qualifying campaign, finishing as one of only three unbeaten teams in their group. They secured 12 points with three wins and three draws, claiming the top spot in Group E. However, their fortunes took a turn for the worse in their group opener as they suffered a surprising 2-1 defeat to Cape Verde. Despite Alexander Djiku scoring Ghana’s first goal and cancelling out Cape Verde’s opener, Garry Rodrigues’ late goal secured a well-deserved victory for Cape Verde.
This disappointing result adds to Ghana’s recent struggles in the Africa Cup of Nations, as they have failed to win any of their last five matches in the tournament, with three losses and two draws since their 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in 2019. This defeat also mirrors their previous Africa Cup of Nations performance in Cameroon two years ago, where they lost their opening game to Morocco and were then stunned by debutant Comoros, leading to an early exit from the group stages.
Head-to-head
Ghana has been defeated in three out of their last four matches against Egypt, with the only exception being a 1-1 draw in the World Cup qualifiers in November 2017. In the last two Africa Cup of Nations meetings between the two teams, Ghana also experienced losses, first in 2010 when they were defeated 1-0 in the final, and most recently in 2017 when Egypt secured a 1-0 victory in the group stages.
Prediction
Both Egypt and Ghana, who were unsuccessful in their first match, understand the importance of the outcome on Thursday as they strive to advance to the next stage. Egypt has not lost in their last four encounters with the Black Stars, and we predict that they will build on the positives from their previous draw and secure a close win at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny.
