It has been two months since Egypt and Senegal squared off in the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, and now they will do battle again as they take to the pitch for the first of their two-legged World Cup qualifying clash. This contest will be played on Friday at the Cairo International Stadium.
Both teams dominated in their group stages, going undefeated. That gives each squad a lot of momentum as they try to secure their ticket to the World Cup in Qatar.
Match Preview
Egypt has to enter this contest with a big chip on their shoulders, as they missed out on winning the Africa Cup of Nations when they lost to Senegal in a penalty shootout this last January. This was a contest that was slow-moving and methodical, as both teams seemed cautious, not wanting to make a mistake. That left the game scoreless after 120 minutes, sending this contest to penalty kicks where Senegal earned the victory.
Egypt will look to put that loss in the rearview mirror and continue their momentum as they strive to reach the World Cup. Senegal also comes in with World Cup aspirations, and each team understands that they must keep their momentum going for this two-legged showdown.
Egypt
Carlos Queiroz has quite the club, who went unbeaten during the qualifying stage. Egypt went 4-2-0 through the sixth qualifiers, earning 14 points to finish atop the Group F standings. That gave them a seven-point lead over runner-up Gabon.
Egypt will be comfortable at home to start this two-legged battle, as they have gone unbeaten in their last seven games at the Cairo International Stadium. They are 6-1-0 in their last seven games at home, not suffering a loss since the 2019 battle against South Africa.
Senegal
Senegal has a lot going for them as well. They finished atop Group H, earning 16 points in six games with a 5-1-0 record. Senegal easily outpaced Togo, who finished with eight points.
The last time the Senegalese team did not earn two points was when they battled to a 1-1 draw against Togo on November 11. Aliou Cisse has developed a never say die culture for the club, and that was on full display as Habib Diallo delivered the tying goal late in the second half to earn Senegal a point.
The Cisse-led club is on a roll, going unbeaten in 13 straight matches. They are 10-3-0 in their last 13 contests. Ironically, their last defeat came against South Africa in the COSAFA Cup played in July 2021. During the 13-game unbeaten streak, the club has scored 24 goals while keeping opponents off the scoresheet in seven of those contests.
Senegal has the added advantage that they have dominated Egypt over the last decade and a half The Senegalese team has won the last three contests between these teams, not falling to Egypt since a 2-1 defeat back in February 2006. That should give this club a lot of momentum and confidence as they enter this big qualifying showdown.
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Team News
One big advantage that Egypt has in this contest is that they have an experienced 22-man roster. They have five foreign-based players that include Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet and Omar Marmoush. Mohamed Salah is the Premier League’s top score, recording 20 goals. He has 47 goals for the national team in his career. The midfield for Egypt will be anchored by Mostafa Mohamed and Mohamed Elneny. Both are having great success playing in the Turkish League.
Egypt will be without Ahmed Hegazzi and Akram Tawfik. Neither played in the African Cup of Nations. Ramadan Sobhi and Mohamed Hany will also be out, as they are listed as day-to-day.
Senegal has a dangerous midfield tandem in Nampalys Mendy and Cheikhou Kouyate. Both have made five starting appearances during the Africa Cup. The defence is also quite good, thanks to the centre-back pairing of Kalidou Koulibaly and Abdou Diallo. How Nigerian Betting Sites are seeing the favourite of this matchup? After the two sides met in the AFCON final, Senegal will be considered favourites by many in this game. Matches like this between two evenly-matched teams are hard to predict, but we can make one forecast with a degree of confidence: there are unlikely to be too many goals in Cairo. Bookmakers are paying 2.05 for under 1.5 goals, which looks like a good option for the game.
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