All eyes will be on Mohamed Salah as the Africa Cup of Nations gets underway this Friday with hosts Egypt facing Zimbabwe at the Cairo International Stadium.
The Pharaohs go into the tournament as hosts and favourites having won the competition as hosts on three of the last four occasions.
Salah’s form will be key to Egypt’s success as he makes a return home after another stellar season with Liverpool which he completed by scoring the first goal in a 2-0 Champions League final triumph over Tottenham Hotspur.
In the last season of the English Premier League, the 27-year-old forward scored 22 goals which gave him share of the Golden Boot title with two fellow Africans, Senegalese Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon.
Apart from Salah, Egypt has quality in all the departments, a factor that makes their coach Javior Augiere confident of bagging maximum points.
“All the players are mentally and physically ready and we look forward to beginning our campaign with a victory over Zimbabwe,” said the Mexican coach.
For Zimbabwe, this will be their fourth Africa Cup of Nations appearance and definitely, they will be seeking to write history as they have yet to progress beyond the group stage of the competition.
In the 2017 edition, they finished at the bottom of their group but gave some very spirited showings against Senegal, Tunisia and Algeria.
Many expect them to be more organised this time around because in their most recent matches they have been known of scoring mainly through counterattacks and set pieces.
Their coach Sunday Chidzambwa is expected to stick with Anderlecht striker Knowledge Musona who found the net six times during the qualifiers alongside Khama Billiat.
In a press conference before the game, Musona, who is the team’s skipper, stated clearly that they are focused to grab points from the hosts.
“We want to win our matches and there is nothing to be concerned about. The only thing that worries us is losing a game in the group stages,” he said
“Our primary objective is to be fully focused on the pitch when we face Egypt. The fans will give them an advantage, but we will try our best to get all three points.”
Egypt and Zimbabwe have met in 14 previous matches whereby the Pharaohs have claimed eight wins compared to two for the Warriors, with four draws thrown into the mix.
Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda are the other teams in Group A and they meet Saturday at the same venue as the opening match.
Group winners and runners-up qualify for the knockout second round along with the best four of the six third-place finishers.
