Surprised from the start by Cape Verde, Ghana must absolutely react to avoid finding themselves on the verge of elimination against an Egypt that is hardly better off. Follow the match live, from 9 p.m., on linternaute.com.
The trauma is still fresh in everyone’s memory and no one in Ghana has forgotten what happened in 2022. “I was on the team last time CANour elimination in the first round remains the worst memory of my career”, recognized Alexander Djiku last Sunday. The Ghanaian defender had to turn into a scorer, he could not prevent his team from losing in added time against modest Cape Verde (1-2). An unfortunate outcome which already puts the Black Stars up against the wall. “I don’t want to live again like the whole team”promises the former Strasbourg resident, today at Fenerbahçe.
This state of mind could prove decisive and the source of a revolt of a group which does not lack assets. Besides Djiku, Ghana counts in its ranks sure values like the Lensois midfielder Abdel Samed, the Bilbao striker Inaki Williams or the Ayew brothers, Jordan and André, who made history last weekend by equaling the record of participation in the CAN (8 like Rigobert Song, Ahmed Hassan and Youcef Msakni, editor’s note). A beautiful frame to which Mohammed Kudus should be added.
At 23, the West Ham midfielder is the one who makes the difference within the squad and his contribution was greatly missed when the Black Stars entered the fray. Retained by his club and arrived late in Ivory Coast, he had to content himself with watching his compatriots from the stands due to a groin injury. Cautious at a press conference, Ghana coach Chris Hughton indicated that a decision regarding the participation of his star would be made just before the second match. A way of letting the suspense hang even if we doubt that he would choose to do without him given the circumstances and the consequences that a new defeat would entail.
The Salah addiction
If Ghana lives on a thread, the situation is not much better for its opponent of the day. Finalist two years ago, theEgypt could not do better than a draw against Mozambique (2-2) to start their competition. A miraculous result acquired at the end of added time on a penalty converted by the inevitable Mohammed Salah to spare his team the bitterness of defeat, Mohamed having opened the scoring depending on the match.
At the age of 31, the Liverpool striker still carries his selection and the fate of the match will greatly depend on his ability to express himself against the Ghanaian defense. Indeed, with his exception, the rest of the Egyptian collective revealed flaws which cost them two goals, as many as in the entire previous edition. Without evading, the Egyptian coach called on his men to show more determination on the pitch. “Every game is a final and we have to win them”, said Rui Vitoria last weekend. Nothing to displease an experienced and homogeneous group whose mental resources no longer need to be proven. This last point could prove decisive in getting out of a very perilous match where the loser will find themselves on the edge of the abyss.
The Group B match, counting for 2th day of the CAN, between Egypt and Ghana will take place from 9 p.m. (8 p.m. local time), at the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny stadium, in Abidjan.
The Group B match, counting for 2th day of the CAN, between Egypt and Ghana will be broadcast live and exclusively on beIN Sport 1.
The meeting between Mohamed Salah’s Egypt and the Ayew brothers’ Ghana will be available in streaming on the MyCanal platform.
Betclic: Egypt: 1.96 / Draw: 3.02 / Ghana: 4.18
Parions Sport: Egypt: 1.93 / Draw: 3.00 / Ghana: 4.15
Winamax: Egypt: 1.96 / Draw: 3.00 / Ghana: 4.10
Egypt: El-Shenawy – Hany, Abdelmonem, Hegazy, Hamdy Sharaf – Sayed Zico, Fathi, Elneny – Salah (cap.), Mohamed, Trézéguet.
Ghana: Ofori (cap.) – Odoi, Djiku, Salisu, Mensah – Ashimeru, Baba – Paintsil, Kudus, J. Ayew – Semenyo.