Egypt will meet Ghana in Group B action after both teams suffered first round setbacks, hoping that Liverpool forward Mo Salah recovers from his hamstring injury to lead his side back into victory.
West Ham United striker Mohammed Kudus will return to Ghana’s starting XI, as they look to rebound after suffering defeat against Cape Verde in their tournament opener. In this article, we will discuss about the top 5 matches of Egypt National Football Team Vs Ghana National Football Team Lineups.
Top 5 Matches
Egypt can only reach the last eight of the Africa Cup of Nations by defeating Ghana. After losing to Mozambique in their opener, Egypt can expect a much better performance at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny against Ghana; on their part, Black Stars lost against Cape Verde earlier and will look to avoid three straight AFCON defeats for once.
Egypt are confident of an impressive performance given the fitness levels of their players, especially Salah, Trezeguet and Elneny who all look in peak condition for this match-up. Rui Vitoria may select his strongest XI for this contest with Manchester City midfielder Mohamed Elneny again leading their attack, while Mohamed Abdelmonem should pair with former West Bromwich Albion centre-back Ahmed Hegazy as central defenders while Omar Marmoush and Hamdi Fathi should complete a back four, while Zizo and Mostafa Mohamed will play behind their captain as attacking roles.
Ghana will be keeping their fingers crossed that West Ham United forward Mohammed Kudus can recover in time to feature against Cape Verde after missing their opening loss against them due to a hamstring injury. Although he missed training prior to this matchup, Chris Hughton may give him his starting place immediately for this fixture.
It is a very similar starting lineup from that used against Mozambique, with Richard Mensah serving the final leg of his domestic red card suspension and Samuel Inkoom, Daniel Opare and Jerry Akaminko set to fill any vacant slots left behind.
Egypt have made Ashour their go-to man in the final stages, winning every ball they encounter and retrieving it easily. He almost raced through to find Trezeguet but his low cross was intercepted by Arsenal midfielder Thomas Paintsil – thus marking an improvement for Egypt after their poor cameo from Bukari in earlier stages. 89 min: Bukari is taken off after an underwhelming cameo performance, replaced by Arsenal midfielder Thomas Paintsil who makes his first start since January.
90+5 min: Ghana are mounting a late comeback, with Jordan Ayew and Antoine Semenyo creating chances, but their visitors are struggling to mount any significant attacks of their own. Fans clapped hands in frustration.
Egypt takes into the half with a two-goal advantage thanks to goals scored by Khaled ‘Bebo’ El-Amin and Mahmoud Trezeguet, making them clear favorites to win this encounter, with bookmakers offering odds of around 1/10 for them to do so. Ghana have won just one out of six matches against Egypt during this tournament – both sides scoring just once each in their initial two matches thus far at this tournament; therefore this clash should produce plenty of goals! Whoever comes out victorious will top Group B with Mozambique trailing one point behind. Whoever loses will finish last in Group B; loser will finish last in Group B.
Egypt vs Ghana
Egypt will travel to Abidjan’s Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, situated near Abidjan city center, for their next African Cup of Nations encounter against Ghana. Both teams hope to advance in their bid and advance to the knockout phase. Egypt currently leads Africa with 12 points from three matches played and has maintained an excellent record against its opposition while Ghana boasts top national players like Mohammed Kudus, Inaki Williams Ernest Nuamah Salis Abdul Mohammed Salisu Joseph Paintsil on its roster.
These teams have met 23 times before, with the Pharaohs holding a narrow edge in terms of head-to-head performance. 14 wins for Pharaohs against seven for Black Stars plus 6 draws. Their next meeting will take place on 18 January 2024 at 20:00 GMT with the winner going onto round two of competition.
Ghana currently ranks third in Group B, trailing Cape Verde and Egypt by one point each. A win against Egypt would secure their passage into the quarter-finals while an unexpected loss could force an early exit from this competition.
An impressive victory by the Black Stars would mark their first triumph since their amazing 2018 World Cup campaign, in which they reached the semifinals without suffering even one loss. Their last official competition win came against Congo during the 2017 African Cup of Nations when they prevailed 2-1 at home via penalties after an goalless draw.
Ghana are currently gearing up to host the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 28 years – their debut will likely draw huge crowds thanks to Ghana being located close by in Abidjan. Ghana will use this opportunity to avenge their disappointment from 2014 World Cup campaign, in which they lost in the final to Germany. Ghana’s Black Stars will look to recapture the form that saw them qualify for both the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, where they finished runners-up. Ghana boasts a long and distinguished footballing heritage and hopes that this match can reignite some of that magic. This game promises to be high scoring affair, as both sides possess plenty of attacking threats. Yet defences should hold firm during what promises to be an intense and competitive match-up. In the first half both teams should maintain possession for extended periods. There may be opportunities in the opening stages as both Egyptian and Ghanaian teams put their defensive structures to the test; and quality play could create some scoring chances later in the half.
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