It will be a busy few months or so for Egypt, as the African nation steps up their preparations ahead of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations. They will be looking to build momentum on Thursday, as they come up against a Zambia side that have been in strong form throughout 2023.
International Friendly Preview
Egypt remain among the leading contenders for the Africa Cup of Nations early next year, and they will be hoping to build momentum ahead of the start of the tournament in the winter this week. Before the focus turns to the regional competition, Egypt will first kick off their qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup. A response will be expected, as they have only reached the tournament on one occasion since 1990.
Egypt have been in reliable form throughout this calendar year, as they have won five of their six international matches. However, they will be looking to get back on track this week after suffering a rare defeat last month against Tunisia. In that fixture, they struggled for an attacking threat.
Zambia will also come into this friendly looking to build momentum, as they look to upset the odds and go far in the Africa Cup of Nations next year. The nation will have huge confidence after an impressive year on the field, as they landed COSAFA Cup success in July after beating Lesotho in the final.
Since then, they have only been in action on one occasion, as they played out a 1-1 draw on matchday six in the Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign against Comoros. The coach will have a number of his key players back for this friendly, and a renewed effort is likely.
Egypt vs Zambia Head to Head
Zambia have a poor record in this fixture, as they have lost eleven of their 22 matches against Egypt. That includes going ten without a victory against their African rivals. The most recent clash between the sides resulted in a 3-0 win fro Egypt in October 2015.
Egypt vs Zambia Prediction
This should be a closer encounter than the previous recent meetings between the sides. However, it looks hard to overlook the Egypt win based on their excellent record against Zambia since the late 90s. Mohamed Salah could be a standout player to find the back of the net this week.
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