Egypt and Zimbabwe will get the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations under way when they meet at the Cairo International Stadium on Friday.
Egypt are hosting the tournament and are also favorites to lift the trophy. They are the most successful team in the history of the tournament, with 7 titles to their name.
On the other hand, Zimbabwe are appearing at just their third AFCON tournament. They failed to register a win at the 2017 competition and did not qualify from their group in 2004 or 2006.
Most of their squad belong to clubs in the neighboring country of South Africa but they do have a few players who play further afield.
Marvelous Nakamba plies his trade in Belgium’s top tier with Club Brugge and Tendayi Darikwa plays for English Championship side Nottingham Forest.
Mohamed Salah is the obvious threat for Egypt. He has a remarkable goals-to-games ratio for his country and his form for Liverpool over the past two seasons has been phenomenal.
Captain Ahmed Elmohamady (Aston Villa) and midfielder Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) also play in the Premier League and their experience could cause Zimbabwe problems.
Zimbabwe have only managed 2 victories over Egypt in 14 attempts and last beat them in 1995. Egypt have beaten Zimbabwe 8 times over the years and are likely to add to their tally on Friday.
Egypt will want to put their disappointing 2018 World Cup campaign behind them and mount a strong challenge to win the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.
They failed to pick up a single point from their three group matches last summer after losing to Uruguay, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Since the World Cup they have won 6 of their 8 matches and will want to continue this hot streak with a win against Zimbabwe.
🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/7wPp26XeOu— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) June 14, 2019
🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/7wPp26XeOu
They defeated Guinea 3-1 in their final friendly match before the tournament begins. Salah was left out of the starting line-up and will be fresh for their opening match.
Zimbabwe have drawn both their friendly matches leading up to the tournament. A goalless tie with Nigeria was followed up by a 1-1 draw against Tanzania.
Egypt are likely to open their 2019 AFCON account with a win and the 75,000-capacity stadium will be rocking on Friday night, full of expectant home fans.
Forebet predicts a comfortable win for the tournament hosts and favorites.