Host nation Egypt will be looking to record back-to-back wins when they face DR Congo in Cairo on Wednesday.
Egypt beat Zimbabwe 1-0 in their opening game whilst DR Congo lost 2-0 to Uganda, leaving them bottom of Group A.
Trezeguet scored his side’s only goal against Zimbabwe in the 44th minute. The Kasimpasa midfielder beat two defenders before curling a shot into the bottom right hand corner.
Egypt dominated proceedings and should have scored more than once. They registered nine shots on target whilst Zimbabwe only managed two in reply.
They also had the majority of the possession in their opening match and are likely to control the game again on Wednesday.
DR Congo are in danger of exiting the competition if they lose to Egypt. They were poor in their first match and failed to trouble Uganda.
They will need some of their more experienced players to step up. Arthur Musuaku plays for Premier League club West Ham United and is one of their top performers.
They also have a number of players dotted around some of Europe’s top leagues and they will need to perform to keep their country in the competition.
Captain Youssouf Mulumbu and Porto’s Chancel Mbemba are also players to keep any eye on. At just 24 years old, Mbemba already has over 40 caps for his country and Mulumbu’s experience is key to DR Congo’s midfield.
As for Egypt, their key man is Liverpool’s goal machine Mohamed Salah. He recently helped the Merseyside outfit win the Champions League and is arguably the continent’s best player.
View this post on Instagram 🇪🇬🇪🇬 A post shared by Mohamed Salah (@mosalah) on Jun 22, 2019 at 1:27pm PDT
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A post shared by Mohamed Salah (@mosalah) on Jun 22, 2019 at 1:27pm PDT
His chances were limited in Egypt’s opening match and he will be eager to open his AFCON 2019 account with a goal against DR Congo.
The two teams have played each other seven times over the years but DR Congo are yet to beat Egypt. Their last meeting in 2012 ended in a 0-0 draw and DR Congo would probably be happy with a point this time around.
DR Congo finished behind fellow Group A contenders Zimbabwe in their qualifying group for the tournament and a win against Egypt is unlikely.
On paper, DR Congo have a stronger squad than Zimbabwe so Egypt will have to perform better than they did in their first match.
Egypt should claim a comfortable win on Wednesday and book their place in the last sixteen of the competition.