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The Egyptian national team received a “huge boost” with their Liverpool star and star Mohamed Salah joining their ranks in Libreville to play a strong showdown against host Gabon in the second round of Group F competitions, while that Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia await it. difficult journeys, in the second round of the African qualifiers for the finals of the 2022 World Football World Cup in Qatar.
Salah, 29, returns to the lead of the Pharaohs after missing the first game against Angola on Wednesday in Cairo, in which the Pharaohs suffered to win a single goal from a penalty kick from Mohamed Magdy “Afsha”, in due to the quarantine restrictions on the Corona virus imposed by Great Britain on arrivals from countries in the red zone, including Egypt.
On Saturday, Salah Fajr posted a photo of himself in a Pharaohs shirt on his social media pages, and commented on it, saying: “10 years and the count goes on”, referring to the time he spent with the Egyptian national. team so far.
The match is of great importance for the Egyptian team, as the Gabonese team are their most prominent contender for the group ticket for the decisive role, and their victory on Sunday will increase their chances of qualifying, all the more as Gabon lost the first game against host Libya 1-2.
Egyptian national team coach Hossam Al-Badri is expected to make some changes to the starting lineup, following the lackluster appearance of his players and the decline in performance for most of them. them against Angola. French Bordeaux, which failed in the last moments.
“We are only looking for victory in the game against Gabon, and we watched their game against Libya in the first leg, and we stood on strengths and weaknesses,” he said, noting that “The opponent has distinguished elements and is looking to make up for his loss in the opening game, so the confrontation will be strong, but I have confidence in the Egyptian players’ ability to skip the second leg of the playoffs.
In contrast, Gabonese coach Patrice Nouveau confirmed that his team can compete for the qualifying ticket and make up for the loss against Libya, “and they are capable of winning against the Pharaohs”.
Novo, who knows Egyptian football well due to his supervision of the training of the Ismaili and Smouha teams previously, added: “We already have a difficult confrontation, but we have professional players who have experience of big matches, led by (Arsenal attacking) captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. “
Regarding Salah’s participation in tomorrow’s game, Nouveau said: “Salah is an important player for the Pharaohs because he is the team’s top scorer in recent times and makes the difference, but we have Aubameyang, an Arsenal player and top scorer.
In the same group, Libya are the guest of Angola, excited by their murderous first-round victory over Gabon, when they turned the tide, toppling them with a 2-1 game-winning goal.
The tasks of the Arab teams will not be easy outside their bases, in particular Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, where the first is the guest of Burkina Faso in Morocco, the second is against Guinea in Conakry, and the third is against Zambia in Lusaka.
Algeria hit hard in the first round, honoring Djibouti with eight clear goals in the first group, including half from striker Islam Slimani.
The Algerian national team continued their unbeaten run for the 28th game in a row, an African record previously held by the Ivory Coast team, with 26 games unbeaten between 2011 and 2013.
Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi warned Burkina Faso, saying: “We have started the qualifiers with a positive result, and that is what we are still looking for. We will start preparing for the next clash against Burkina Faso, who will be difficult, ”adding that he aspires to win regardless of the competitor’s name.
Burkina Faso enter the match in good spirits by beating host Niger with a clear brace, and they chose Morocco for their home game against Algeria because their stadiums did not meet International Federation standards. of the Game (FIFA).
In the ninth group, the Moroccan team won their second consecutive victory after the first against Sudan (2-0), when they traveled to struggling Guinea in a 1-1 draw against their host. , Guinea-Bissau.
The “Atlas Lions” did not suffer to beat Sudan, but without offering a performance that reassured their fans, which was confirmed by their Bosnian coach, Vahid Halilhodzic, “The first game of the second round of the qualifiers and the first win is an important thing, unfortunately we did not take advantage of the opportunities that were presented to us, but we did a good technical job. “
Halilhodzic, who ruled out Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech on disciplinary grounds, added: “We will calmly prepare for the next game with all its demands, it will undoubtedly be a different showdown and we will face a side that depends on the side. physical, but we have the capacity to cope with any difficulties. “
In the same group, Sudan is seeking to catch up with Morocco when it hosts Guinea-Bissau in the hope of redressing the situation before it is too late.
Tunisia’s situation is no different from that of its Algerian and Moroccan neighbors when it is the guest of Zambia’s return with a precious 2-1 victory over Mauritania in Nouakchott in Group B.
Tunisia won a large victory over Equatorial Guinea by 3-0, but that does not reflect the course of the match and the suffering of the “Carthage Eagles”.
Coach Munther Al-Kabeer said: “In the first half the team did not show their true potential, and that was a way to forget,” adding: “In the second half we appeared with a different face, which allowed us to impose absolute control over the game. At least 3 chances to score.
Mauritania will need to beat host Equatorial Guinea to maintain their hopes of competing for the group ticket.
The second round will see two hot summits, the first in Group D between Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, and the second in Group G between South Africa and Ghana.
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