Egypt will square off against Ghana at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in their second group-stage match of the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 (AFCON) on Thursday.
Egypt, the runners-up from the previous edition and record champions, did not have the start they were hoping for to the tournament as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Mozambique in their campaign opener.
They took the lead in the second minute thanks to Mostafa Mohamed’s goal, assisted by in-form forward Mohamed Salah. Mozambique returned with vigor after the break and overturned the deficit as they scored twice in three minutes in the second half.
The seven-time winners got a lucky break late in the match as they were awarded a penalty in injury time. Salah made no mistakes in converting from the spot as he rescued a point for his team.
Ghana, four-time champions in the competition, lost 2-1 to Cape Verde, in what can be considered an upset in this edition of the AFCON. Alexander Djiku equalized for them in the 56th minute thanks to Jordan Ayew’s assist but Garry Rodrigues bagged an injury-time winner for Cape Verde.
This is a must-win match for Ghana while the 2021 runners-up also need a win to ensure a top-two finish in the Group B table.
Egypt vs Ghana Head-to-Head
The two teams have met 23 times across all competitions thus far. Egypt have the upper hand in the head-to-head record with a 12-5 lead in wins and six games ending in draws.They last met in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with the match ending in a 1-1 draw and The Pharaohs recording a 3-1 win on aggregate.They have crossed paths four times in the AFCON, with the seven-time winners having a 2-1 lead in wins and one meeting ending in a draw.Ghana have just two wins in their last 15 meetings against their northern rivals, with one of them coming in a friendly.