Egypt will meet Mozambique at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in the opening of their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign on Sunday.
Egypt, the seven-time champions and runners-up from the previous edition, have been in good touch recently and are on a five-match unbeaten run in all competitions. They warmed up for the start of their campaign with a friendly against Tanzania last week, recording a 2-0 win.
Mozambique are returning to the group stage of the continental competition after a 14-year hiatus. They have never made it past the group stage in their four main event appearances and will look to improve that record. They fared well in their two friendlies earlier this month, beating Lesotho 2-0 and drawing 1-1 against Botswana.
The two teams have been drawn alongside four-time champions Ghana and Cape Verde in Group B. The Pharaohs are strong favorites to finish top of the group and will look to start their campaign with a win.
Egypt vs Mozambique Head-to-Head and key numbers
- The two teams have “locked” five times in competitive games so far. The Pharaohs have a perfect record in these meetings, scoring nine goals.
- They last met in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with the 2021 AFCON runners-up recording a 3-0 aggregate victory over two meetings.
- Interestingly, Mozambique have faced the seven-time champions in three of their four AFCON appearances, losing 2-0 in the group stage encounters of the 1986, 1998 and 2010 editions.
- Mozambique have gone on a 12-game winless streak in their group games in four editions of the AFCON, with 10 defeats. They have scored just four times in that time, while scoring 24 goals.
- Mozambique is one of five South African teams playing in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. This is the first edition of the tournament in which five teams from the COFASA region have qualified for the group stage.
Egypt vs Mozambique Prediction
The Pharaohs have finished runners-up in two of the last three editions of the AFCON. They will be out for redemption after losing to Senegal on penalties in the previous edition. They have won 12 of their last 14 games, including friendlies, and are strong favourites.
They have kept clean sheets in their last three games and manager Rui Vitória will be expecting another strong defensive performance from his side. Liverpool star Mohamed Salah got the assist for Trezeguet in the friendly win over Tanzania and will be a starter in this match.
Mambas were in decent form before the start of their campaign and managed to avoid defeat in their two pre-tournament friendlies. They are yet to open their goalscoring account against the 2021 runners-up.
Interestingly, they have conceded at least two goals in their last seven AFCON games, while scoring three in that span.
Considering Egypt’s impressive record in the AFCON so far and a perfect record in five matches against Mozambique, they are expected to record a comfortable win and the chances of a clean sheet are also good.
Prophecy: Egypt 2-0 Mozambique
Egypt vs Mozambique Betting tips
Tip 1: Result – Egypt Win
Tip 2: Goals – Over/Under 2.5 Goals – Under 2.5 Goals
Tip 3: At least one goal to come in the first half – Yes
Tip 4: Trezeguet to score or assist anytime – Yes