Egypt vs Senegal
Egypt and Senegal will face off in the opening leg of their two-legged World Cup playoffs clash at the Cairo International Stadium on Friday, two months after they met in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
Both teams will be hoping to build on their perfect record in the qualifiers’ group stages and increase their chances of securing a ticket to Qatar.
Team News
Egypt
- Queiroz has named an experienced 22-man squad for their double-header against the Lions of Teranga, which includes five internationals like as Omar Marmoush and Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet.
- Mohamed Salah, who is presently the Premier League’s leading scorer with 20 goals, remains the Pharaohs’ important striker, and with 47 goals for his country, he will undoubtedly be a player to watch.
- Liverpool’s forward should be assisted up front by Turkish Super Lig duo Mostafa Mohamed of Galatasaray and Trezeguet of Istanbul Basaksehir, while Mohamed Elneny continues to control the midfield.
- Egypt will be missing Ahmed Hegazi and Akram Tawfik, who have been out since the Africa Cup of Nations, while Ramadan Sobhi and Mohamed Hany continue their recovery from injuries.
Senegal
- Meanwhile, Cisse has named a similar squad to the one that won the AFCON title in January, including Premier League trio Edouard Mendy of Chelsea, Sadio Mane of Liverpool, and Ismaila Sarr of Watford.
- Having said that, Mane will once again be an important member of the Lions of Teranga’s attacking line-up, alongside Sarr and Famara Kouyate.
- Nampalys Mendy and Cheikhou Kouyate were both ever-presents for Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, starting five times apiece, and they should retain their starting spots.
- Senegal owes their great performance in Cameroon to their defense, and we should see a similar rear centre-back duo of Kalidou Koulibaly and Abdou Diallo sheltering Mendy in goal.
Prediction Analysis
Egypt will enter the game anxious to avenge their previous three defeats against Cisse’s men, including the slim defeat in January’s AFCON final. While they will have home advantage, Senegal boasts an abundance of world-class quality. We anticipate that the game will finish level, putting everything up for grabs in the return leg.
Our prediction is Egypt 1-1 Senegal
Possible Line Up
Egypt: El-Shennawy; El-Wensh, Abdelmomen, Ashraf, Fatouh; H Fathi, El-Sulya, Elneny; Salah, Marmoush, Trezeguet
Senegal: Mendy; Sarr, Koulibaly, Diallo, Ciss; Kouyate, Mendy, I Gueye; Mane, Keita Kouyate.