Mohamed Salah narrowly misses a penalty when Domingos tackles him inside the box, prompting an extended VAR check as the referee consults the pitchside monitor.
Egypt will kick off their African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with an important match against Mozambique under Liverpool striker Salah’s leadership, looking to end their drought from 2017 and 2021 penalty shoot-out losses. In this article, we will discuss the main point of Egypt National Football Team Vs Mozambique National Football Team Lineups.
Egypt’s Lineup
Egyptian Pharaohs begin their bid for an eighth African Cup of Nations title when they face Mozambique at Abidjan’s Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium on Sunday. Egypt came third last year due to losing in both finals against Cameroon and Senegal, so victory against Os Mambas would put Egypt atop of Group F and would ensure an African Championships title.
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah will likely lead Rui Vitoria’s side forward while Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny could start alongside him in midfield. Both players were vital components in qualifying the Pharaohs for AFCON 2023, so both will hope that by helping secure an opening round bye they can secure victory against either Ghana or Cape Verde.
Omar Marmoush could play an integral role in Egypt’s midfield, having impressed during qualifying with four goals from eight appearances with Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush of Eintracht Frankfurt. Egypt also have notable players like Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia winger Trezeguet as well as Omar Yousef to call upon for this tournament.
Mozambique finished second in their qualifying tournament and will make their fifth appearance at AFCON this year despite failing to secure any wins so far in any of their 12 previous appearances at this tournament. Chiquinho Conde must find some way of injecting some offensive flair if Mozambique are to make any progress at this tournament.
Lau King led The Mambas’ qualifying campaign as Sagrada Esperanca scored three times in Angola’s Girabola league for Sagrada Esperanca – three goals were scored against Egypt who have not conceded in six matches! King, 28 years old will look to add his goal total against them when facing Egypt this Saturday.
Mozambique’s Lineup
Mozambique returns to the Africa Cup of Nations after 14 years away, hoping that they can make an impressionful performance this time around. Chiquinho Conde’s squad have failed to move beyond the first round in all four previous appearances and are eager to avoid another disappointing showing at this tournament.
Egypt-Mozambique’s Group B contest promises to be exciting this year’s tournament. Egypt have been among the most dominant teams at Africa Cup of Nations history, having won seven titles already; hoping to add another crown on Sunday against Mozambique who have never before managed to conquer Egypt in any major competition. Meanwhile Mozambique hope to make their mark against one of AFCON history’s most formidable rivals; an outcome which could set the tone for their matchup this Sunday against Egypt.
Rui Vitoria of Egypt will employ his popular 4-3-3 formation that has seen them defeat Mozambique 3-2 and Mozambique 1-1 with Mohamed Salah, Mahmoud Trezeguet and Mostafa Mohamed leading their attack. Vitoria made some key adjustments since their opening draw against Mozambique; Inaki Williams will start instead of injured Antoine Semenyo while Jordan Ayew has left his squad altogether.
Salah will look to build on his goal against Mozambique’s lax defense and should create several scoring opportunities throughout the match. However, Liverpool star Salah must improve his finishing in order to help Egypt advance to the knockout phase.
Mostafa Mohamed will also look to contribute towards scoring. His set pieces can pose a tremendous threat, taking advantage of Mozambique’s weak defensive capabilities; his long crosses could prove highly dangerous.
Egypt’s Starting XI
Mozambique are looking to surprise Egypt at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny by upstaging them as seven-time Africa Cup of Nations winners are firm favourites in Group B. Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah will be key for Egypt, but Emam Ashour and Mohamed Elneny should also prove effective players.
The Pharaohs kicked off their campaign with two victories against Lesotho and Botswana before drawing with Botswana – two results which gave them confidence ahead of taking on Lesotho again for their final clash against Botswana’s Mambas who returned after reaching this stage in 2010. Those results gave the Egyptian team momentum heading into tomorrow’s battle between these teams which haven’t met since 2010.
Mozambique started their tournament poorly, losing to Namibia and drawing with Zimbabwe but have shown improvement since in friendlier games. Mozambique currently ranks 78th globally and won their qualifying group to advance to this stage for the fourth time.
Egypt opened their account early when Mostafa Mohamed scored off Witi’s pass from the right in just the second minute. Clesio Bauque gave Mambas a 2-1 lead by scoring again in 25th minute before Trezeguet hit post with powerful shot from long range to deny them victory.
Egypt struggled after halftime to create chances, prompting Mozambique to make numerous substitutions: Guima was booked after two fouls within one minute; Reinado and Zizo were removed with Omar Kamal and Omar Marmoush coming on in their place.
On the hour mark, Egypt had an opportunity to seize control of the match when they earned a free-kick about 30 yards from their left touchline. Unfortunately for Ha King and Salah both, both their attempts fell well short of hitting the target.
Egypt may have had a slightly disappointing attack, but their defensive efforts proved the biggest weakness, being caught napping multiple times by Mozambique’s airborne opponents and with Egypt wingers leaving themselves exposed and making way too many crosses for Mozambique to exploit.
Mozambique’s Starting XI
Egypt and Mozambique meet in Abidjan with both teams eager to start off in style. Egypt was defeated as a finalist in both 2017 and 2021 finals and now have an opportunity to launch their campaign with an early victory against an Mambas team which has never tasted victory at this tournament in four previous appearances.
Egypt began strongly, as Mostafa Mohamed and Mohammed Elneny linked well before Trezeguet shot low into the goal, which rebounded off of the post. Although both teams battled through some tough conditions early on, Egypt looked superior at this stage and could potentially run away with this contest if they keep up this level of performance.
Mozambique had an opportunity to break the deadlock early in the second half following a goalmouth scramble, but their attempt failed and it was cleared for a corner kick. They have struggled to gain any attacking momentum but boast an excellent defensive platform.
Mozambique are finally finding some possession, with Gildo Vilanculos making an impression down the left before shooting over. But without an accurate shot on target yet it seems unlikely they can wreak havoc against Egypt at their backline.
Egypt attempt to get a penalty after Mostafa Mohamed is brought down inside the box by Edmilson Domingos; however, after consulting his pitchside monitor the referee rules against Mostafa Mohamed.
Mozambique have yet to score at this tournament, though their defensive organisation has improved markedly from their opening quarter showing. They’re holding their own offensively too; Witi sent a header wide while Clesio Bauque curled one just over the bar. Egypt created another opportunity when Mohamed Salah attempted to score their fourth goal but saw his volley hit off the post instead – hopefully this tournament-defining goal will arrive shortly.
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