Do the ‘Pharaohs’ take revenge on Senegal?
Egypt and Senegal meet in the World Cup 2022 qualifiers in Africa. The home side, of course, have a score to settle with the visitors in the first leg of the third qualifying round.
Nearly two months ago, Mo Salah’s men were beaten on penalties by the Senegalese in the final of the Africa Cup. For the Senegalese national football team, it was their first title at this tournament. For the match at the Cairo International Stadium between Egypt and Senegal, our tip is now aiming for a draw.
Egypt – Statistics & current form
The Egyptian national team wants to repeat its participation in the last World Cup in Russia. However, they lost three matches to the hosts, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, which is why their participation came to an abrupt end when they finished last in their group.
Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz again managed to get through the group stage of the current World Cup qualifiers without defeat. Four wins and two draws were recorded in the matches against Gabon, Libya and Angola.
The three home matches were all won and only Gabon conceded one goal in the encounters in Cairo.
Salah to get things back on track in attack
In the attack, hopes are naturally pinned on Mo Salah. The Liverpool striker has already scored 47 goals in his 82 appearances for the national team so far.
Given his exceptional position in the ranks of the hosts, the odds on a goal for the home side in the clash between Egypt and Senegal also offer themselves.
Predicted line-up of Egypt:
Gabaski – Hamdi – Ashour – Abdelmonem – Fathi – Lasheen – Elneny – El Solia – Marmoush – Salah – Mostafa Mohamed
Last matches played by Egypt:
Africa Nations Cup Final
02/06 2022 – Senegal (4)0 – 0(2) Egypt
02/03 2022 – Cameroon (1)0 – 0(3) Egypt
01/30 2022 – Egypt 2 – 1 Morocco
01/26 2022 – Ivory Coast (4)0 – 0(5) Egypt
Africa Nations Cup Grp. D
01/19 2022 – Egypt 1 – 0 Sudan
Senegal – Statistics & current form
The Teranga Lions have appeared at a global finals twice in their history. The first time they achieved this success was in 2002, when they went straight through to the quarter-finals, where they were ultimately eliminated by a “golden goal” from Turkey.
Senegal also took part in the last World Cup in Russia. This time, however, the tournament was already over for the guests after the group stage. In the current World Cup qualifiers, however, coach Aliou Cisse’s team came through the group stage very comfortably.
They did not lose any of their six group matches against Togo, Namibia and the Republic of Congo. Moreover, only the Togolese were able to record at least a draw on their own turf in Lome against the eight-time winners of the Copa Amilcar.
Senegal convincing in attack
In addition to a stable defence with only four goals conceded, the attack has also been convincing in the group games: Only Morocco and Algeria scored more goals than Senegal. Like their opponents, Senegal have an excellent striker in Sadio Mane.
Salah’s strike partner on the Mersey at LFC scored 29 goals in 87 appearances for the domestic side.
Mane looks back on a strong Africa Cup
Mane also played a starring role in the aforementioned win over Egypt at the last Africa Cup: he missed a penalty during normal time, but sank the decisive attempt from the penalty spot in the penalty shoot-out that followed.
In general, he had a great tournament with three goals and two assists. As a reward, the 29-year-old was also honoured with the best player award at the recent Africa Cup in Cameroon.
In the current Premier League season, he is also doing very well again with twelve goals, which means that Mane will finish his sixth consecutive season on the Mersey with a double-digit goal haul!
Especially in light of his current strong form, betting on a goal by the visitors in Egypt’s clash against Senegal is also worth considering.
Diedhiou also knows where the box is
The home side should also keep an eye on Famara Diedhiou. The Alanyaspor attacker and former Bristol player from the British Championship has been the visitors’ most successful goal scorer in the World Cup qualifiers with four goals.
Predicted line-up of Senegal:
Mendy E. – Koulibaly – Diallo – Ciss – Sarr B. – Kouyaté – Mendy N. – Gueye – Mane – Diedhiou – Sarr I.
Last matches played by Senegal:
Africa Nations Cup Final
02/06 2022 – Senegal (4)0 – 0(2) Egypt
02/02 2022 – Burkina Faso 1 – 3 Senegal
01/30 2022 – Senegal 3 – 1 Equatorial Guinea
01/25 2022 – Senegal 2 – 0 Cape Verde
Africa Nations Cup Grp. B
01/18 2022 – Malawi 0 – 0 Senegal
Egypt – Senegal Direct Comparison / H2H Record
As described, the last direct encounter took place last February and ended with Senegal winning on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes of play.
From an objective point of view, the success in the Africa Cup final was well deserved because the first-time title holders were the slightly better team.
Thanks to the triumph, the visitors recorded their third win in a row in this pairing! Moreover, the “Pharaohs” failed to score in any of their defeats.
Egypt – Senegal Tip
The winner of the two upcoming duels can look forward to a ticket to the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. Here, the Egyptians will now be banking on home advantage in the first encounter.
The hosts have not lost on home soil since a defeat to South Africa in July 2019. However, our prediction for the clash between Egypt and Senegal is a draw.
From a match point of view, the teams are on an equal footing and this was also evident in the recent Africa Cup final, which only found a winner in a penalty shootout. The exceptional player Mo Salah on the side of the hosts will be balanced out by his Liverpool team-mate Mane on the side of the visitors, who is hardly less capable of scoring.
The defensive lines are also very similar, with both conceding just four goals during the group stage. On top, the visitors will be defensive. They could certainly live with a draw for the time being, as the return match in front of their own backdrop is coming up in a few days.
