It was precisely because of their setback in March against this same opponent that Egypt missed out on the African Nations Championship. However, they will return to the World Cup — they secured qualification ahead of time. Ultimately, they finished with eight wins and two draws. Yet, they disappointed in the Arab Cup in December — after draws with Kuwait and the UAE, they lost to Jordan 0-3. Failing to reach the playoffs, they later defeated Nigeria in a friendly.
South Africa, during the summer, failed to reach the playoffs of the African Nations Championship, even though they collected the same six points as Algeria and just one less than Uganda. The main thing is that they finally had success in World Cup qualification: there, by the slightest margin, they scored eighteen points to seventeen, ahead of both Benin and Nigeria. In November, they also beat Zambia 3-1 in a friendly.
Salah and company started the tournament against Zimbabwe. They were losing until the middle of the second half, but the situation was turned around by goals from their stars — Mohamed himself and Marmoush. Hugo Broos’s charges also faced difficulties with Angola but secured a 2-1 win thanks to an assist and a goal by Foster.
Egypt has won twice in a row
On average, Egypt scores 1.4 goals and concedes 1 goal per match
50% of Egypt’s matches end with goals from both teams and an average total of 2.4 goals per match
South Africa is unbeaten in their last eleven matches
On average, South Africa scores 1.8 goals and concedes 0.8 goals per match
60% of South Africa’s matches end with goals from both teams and an average total of 2.6 goals per match.
Egypt (probable lineup): El-Shenawy — Hamdi, Abdelmagid, El-Hanfi, Hany — Fathi, Attia, Trezeguet, Ashour, Salah — Marmoush.
South Africa (probable lineup): Williams — Modiba, Mbokazi, Ngezana, Mudau — Mokwena, Sithole, Appollis, Mbule, Nkota — Foster.
