Subs: Gabr, Hany, Trezeguet, Kouka, Kahraba, Fatouh, Attia, Mostafa Fathi, Hamada, Abou Gabal, Zizo, Sobhy.
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Ghana: Ofori, Odoi, Djiku, Salisu, Mensah, Ashimeru, Abdul Samed, Semenyo, Kudus, Jordan Ayew, Williams.
Subs: Seidu, Opoku, Andre Ayew, Bukari, Wollacott, Paintsil, Owusu, Ati-Zigi, Amartey, Nuamah, Baba, Sowah.
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What a day of Afcon action this is, arguably the biggest day of the tournament so far. Two huge matches between four giants of the continent: Ivory Coast v Nigeria and Egypt v Ghana. The first game is already finished (1-0 to Nigeria) and we will be bringing you the latter here.
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Traditionally, all four nations would harbour hopes of bringing home the trophy next month, despite the fact that only one of these four has won any of the last six Afcon tournaments: Ivory Coast in 2015, beating Ghana in the final. However, Morocco and Senegal remain the favourites for this year’s title after both teams romped to a 3-0 wins in their opening group stage games.
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How Egypt and Ghana wish they were in the same position. Group B is a tricky one, and has got trickier, with Egypt scrambling to save a 2-2 draw with Mozambique and Ghana falling 2-1 to Cape Verde, the smallest of the 24 teams here, which subsequently led to an angry supporter attempting to strike the Ghana coach Chris Hughton at the team hotel.
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Ghana’s defeat means they has won once in the last 10 Afcon games, and the Black Stars will be desperate to avoid a repeat of the first-round exit at the 2022 tournament, which ended with a humiliating defeat to Comoros.
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With a record of four wins in 11 matches since taking charge of Ghana last February, Hughton is under enormous pressure to get a result against Egypt. He is expected to be sacked after the tournament, unless there is a huge turnaround in fortunes.
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Egypt are in a slightly better position after their draw. Salah remains the talisman but he struggled with the humidity against Mozambique. “The weather in Africa is different; humidity is high and the concentration drops,” he said. “The best thing is that we learn early, so we know our mistakes before the crucial rounds, like the quarter-finals or the round of 16.”
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The north African side reached the final last time around, but were not at their free-flowing best, and there are serious concerns that head coach Rui Vitória, who is one of the biggest earners here with his $2.4m salary, is not getting the best out of a talented squad that includes and former Premier League players Trézéguet and Ahmed Hegazi.
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It’s a massive game. Join me.
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Kick-off: 8pm GMT (also in Abidjan).
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important events
20 min: After that attack, Salah had some choice words for referee Pierre Ghislain Acho. I think Salah wanted a foul on Marmouche, but the Gabonese referee didn't do that and yelled back in Salah's face! Ghislain Acho threatened to name Salah, but Salah wisely stepped back.
18 minutes: I love playing Marmouche. A beautiful crossfield ball from Salah starts Egypt's first proper attack, but it's Marmouche who actually pulls it off. The Eintracht Frankfurt man was quite frank when he got going, with Marmouche weaving past Odoi before a fine challenge from Zyk stopped the Egyptian.
16 minutes: Hamdi Fatih will have to see that. The Egyptian midfielder was penalized for the second time, this time for a carrier to Jourdan Ayew. The Palace man is so good at taking free kicks that he must be one of the most fouled players in the Premier League.
14 minutes: Hamdi Fati was penalized for a foul on Asimel and Ghana won a free kick. Jordan Ayew swings the ball towards Salisu but the former Southampton man is unable to nod it towards goal. It seems that his troubles gave him a headache too. Of course, Salisu, currently at Monaco, would be fine to continue.
12 minutes: Ghana's Abdul Sameed did some tricks and midfield. The audience was mainly there for Ghana, which is just across the border from Abidjan, and they appreciated it.
8 minutes: When Ghana's centre-back, Zik, loses the ball, Mohamed nearly breaks free as he struggles towards goal. However, a series of small nibbles and pulls means that Zik recovers and eventually defeats the Egyptian counterattack.
6 minutes: A sensational run from Asimelu, who ran 60 yards with the ball, freed Semenyo, but the Bournemouth man was unable to beat El-Shenawy with little effort. Semenyo was actually (correctly) ruled offside, but it was a close call. Ghana is strong in this early game.
4 minutes: Kudus takes the first shot from long range. This will not be his last effort tonight for Ghana.
2 minutes: Asimel made a rather shocking late challenge against Ashour on the Egyptian left. It's a tackle that would have automatically resulted in a yellow card if it hadn't been right after the start of the game. The Ghanaian man was lucky to only get away with one shot.
Beep beep! in progress.
The team is on a trip to Abidjan. We are delighted that West Ham's Mohamed Kudus is fit enough to play against Egypt tonight. The 23-year-old joined the Ghana squad late after picking up a hamstring injury in West Ham's 2-0 win over Arsenal, but did not feature in the game against Cape Verde. He has some kind of talent.
Battle of Mose🌟
🇪🇬✖️🇬🇭
Who will come out on top? 🤔#EGGYGA | #TotalEnergyAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/RbaPJ6OU39
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 18, 2024
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Email from Peter O.
“Mostafa Mohamed's spin-and-spin goal against Mozambique was very good, especially in contrast to the un-Mo Salah-like Fresh Air goal just before that. h) They will have to cut back on their work in order to outwit the Black Stars, who boast level brains.”
Mostafa Mohammed's goals were clinical. Even though Peter's puns are terrible, I still appreciate the email.
Check out some pregame snaps.
in another game today, former Middlesbrough and Birmingham full-back Emilio Nsuue scored a hat-trick as Equatorial Guinea beat Guinea-Bissau 4-2. Nsuue, now 34, captains the national team and leads the attack, helping them win their first Afcon treble since 2008.
This is our report…
…and here are the highlights:
𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦: 🇬🇶 4-2 🇬🇼
Emilio Nsué López scores a historic hat-trick as Equatorial Guinea passes Guinea-Bissau! #TotalEnergyAFCON2023 | #EQGGNB | @Football2Gether
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 18, 2024
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may seem a little strange It was former Watford centre-back (now with Greece's PAOK) William Troost-Ekong who took the penalty that helped Nigeria defeat hosts Ivory Coast recently, as well as Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze, among others. , Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi and more.
However, it was a brilliant spot-kick in front of the home fans. Troost-Ekong is no stranger to spot kicks and even scored in a high-pressure situation in the 2022 World Cup qualifying play-off against Ghana (although the Black Stars qualified on away goals).
William Troost-Eck—O—G— 🤷♂️
William Troost-E𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 👑#TotalEnergyAFCON2023 | #CIVNGR pic.twitter.com/SLrjxXUMC2
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 18, 2024
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Dear team!
Egypt: El-Shennawy, Kamal, Hegazi, Abdelmonem, Hamdi, Hamdi Fatih, Elneny, Salah, Marmouche, Ashour, Mohamed.
sub: Gabr, Honey, Trezeguet, Kouka, Kahalaba, Fatou, Atia, Mostafa Fatih, Hamada, Abu Gabal, Zizo, Sobhi.
Ghana: Ofori, Odoi, Zik, Salisu, Mensah, Asimel, Abdul Samet, Semenyo, Kudus, Jordan Ayew, Williams.
sub: Seidu, Opoku, Andre Ayew, Bukari, Wolacott, Paintsil, Owusu, Ati Gigi, Amartey, Nuama, Baba, Sowa.
preamble
What a day of Afcon action this is, and perhaps the biggest day of the tournament to date. His two big matches between his four giants on the continent: Ivory Coast vs. Nigeria and Egypt vs. Ghana. The first match has already ended (1-0 to Nigeria). Here we present the latter match.
Traditionally, all four nations have hopes of taking home the trophy next month, despite the fact that only Ivory Coast in 2015 have won the last six Afcon competitions, defeating Ghana in the final. Zuda. However, Morocco and Senegal remain the favorites for this year's title after both teams won 3-0 in the opening game of the group stage.
How much better it would have been if Egypt and Ghana were in the same position. Group B was tricky and got even trickier, with Egypt struggling to defend a 2-2 draw with Mozambique and Ghana, but losing 2-1 to Cape Verde, the smallest of the 24 teams here, followed by angry supporters This led to an attempt. He punched Ghana coach Chris Hughton at the team's hotel.
Ghana's loss means they have won just one of their last 10 Afcon matches, with the Black Stars desperate to avoid a repeat of their first-round exit in the 2022 tournament, which ended in a humiliating defeat to Comoros. It will be.
Hughton, who has recorded four wins from 11 games since taking charge of Ghana in February last year, is under huge pressure to deliver against Egypt. The player is expected to be released after the tournament unless there is a major turnaround in his fortunes.
After the draw, Egypt is in a slightly advantageous position. Salah remains a talisman, but he struggled with the humidity against Mozambique. “The weather in Africa is different. It's humid and the concentrations are low,” he said. “The best thing is that by learning early, you can realize your mistakes before important rounds like the quarterfinals or the round of 16.”
The North African team advanced to the final last time, but was not at its best. There are serious concerns that head coach Louis Vitoria, one of the region's highest earners with an annual salary of $2.4 million, will not receive the award. They have selected the best from a talented squad that includes former Premier League players Trezeguet and Ahmed Hegazi.
It's a big game. Please join us.
kick off: 8pm GMT (also in Abidjan).
