Egypt set their sights on Guinea-Bissau at the Roumde Adjia Stadium after disappointingly suffering defeat in their opener against Nigeria. The West-African team will have the edge of being closer to home and accustomed to the severely hot weather conditions more than the Pharaohs from Northern Africa.
Africa Cup of Nations – Group D
Saturday 15 January
Roumde Adjia Stadium
21:00
To Win
Guinea-Bissau 7/1 | Draw 26/10 | Egypt 4/10
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau’s number 10, Judilson Gomes, nicknamed “Pele” failed to convert from the penalty spot 10 minutes before the final whistle that could’ve earned the West-African nation their first-ever victory at the Cup of Nations.
This would give manager Baciro Cande flashbacks of their 2019 AFCON campaign where “Djurtus” finished bottom of Group F behind Ghana, Cameroon and Benin after failing to register a single goal.
The last times Guinea-Bissau faced opposition of this quality it didn’t end well against Morocco (3-0 & 5-0) and Senegal (1-0 & 2-0). It’s going to be a difficult task for the defence against Mohamed Salah who will be determined to get Egypt’s campaign underway on the right footing after failing to make a significant impact in their opener against Nigeria.
Egypt
It’s no secret that Mohamed Salah is one of the world’s premier attackers since making his big-money move to Liverpool in 2017 and it was expected that he’d be double-marked out of matches since “Mo” has painted a massive bulls-eye on his back, whereby every opposition manager and defender will aim to stop the prodigiously talented Egyptian.
Following the 1-0 defeat to Nigeria, the Super Eagles coach Augustin Eguavoen stated: “In terms of preparation and strategy, we had a special plan for Mohamed Salah because we know his quality,”
“Basketball is one game that I love so much. When you are playing against the likes of Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan and others, if you don’t double-team, you’ll have a problem.
“That is the same strategy that I bring into football. So, when Mo Salah is with the ball, the closest person goes to him and the next person has to double-team to make him playback.
“It worked for us like 80%, but Salah broke loose on one or two occasions which is normal, but again congratulations to the boys because they are so intelligent.”
I’m sure Guinea-Bissau will try to mirror this approach that proved successful and take lessons from Nigeria’s victory over Egypt. On the hand, Salah doesn’t look comfortable in the false-nine role, I’d prefer the Liverpool forward to play behind Al-Ahly’s towering centre-forward Mohamed Sherif.
The more Salah receives the ball in attacking areas, the more dangerous Egypt becomes, and I strongly feel Sherif could be the perfect deputy.
Prediction: Away Win To Nil (Yes) (8/10)
There’s always giant-killings in knockout competitions, however, with Guinea-Bissau failing to score in seven of the last 10 matches, Salah and co. will be licking their lips at the thought of facing the minnows. My money is firmly on Egypt Win To Nil.
