Mohamed Salah helped Egypt end their three-match winless run with the sole strike against Guinea-Bissau that earned them three points on Match Day 2 of the 2021 AFCON. They go to their final match in Group D needing a win to confirm a place in the second round and face a Sudan side staring at an early exit. Egypt have three points, in second place and Sudan are bottom with a point. This will be the second meeting in as many months between these two nations. In the first, at the Arab Cup, Egypt whacked Sudan 5-0, and then they were understrength. With their top stars available for this game, Egypt are bound to be stronger. They’ve lost just twice in their last 23 matches, and one other loss came through post match penalties after a 0-0 draw with Qatar in the Arab Cup. In AFCON action, Egypt have lost just three of their last 31 matches.
Sudan, just like Egypt, have scored one goal at AFCON 2021 and lost one of their two matches. the difference is that they’ve won none so far and that is what will put them under pressure here. It won’t help that Sudan have never beaten Egypt before. In their four earlier meetings, Egypt have won all, with a score line of 17-1. Sudan go into this game without a win in their last 13 matches and have failed to score in seven of their last 10 games across all competitions. This won’t be the first time Sudan meet Egypt at the AFCON tournament; they met earlier in 2008, and Egypt won 3-0. That was just one of the six losses in nine matches at AFCIN that Sudan have had to take. In the said nine AFCON matches, Sudan have failed to score in six, and only managed one win.
Egypt have a very good run at AFCON and have four wins in four meetings with Sudan. In those four matches, they’ve scored 17 goals and conceded just one. This game finds Egypt under pressure; their backs are against the wall and they need a win to guarantee progression. We expect to see a rampant Egypt and we will back them for a half time/full time lead.