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Group B at the Africa Cup of Nations will draw to a close this week, and Ghana will be looking to keep their qualification hopes alive when they face Mozambique at Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara on Monday night.

Ghana are staring down a second consecutive AFCON group-stage exit, currently in third place in the group and level on one point with their opponents in this match, who are at the bottom of the group standings.

The game will start at 8pm.

Match preview

Mozambique have had to wait 12 years to return to the AFCON, having failed to qualify for the last six editions, and the requirements for them to remain in the competition are exactly the same as their opponents in this match.

However, history is certainly not on the Mambas’ side since they have never won a group-stage match in an AFCON, losing 12 and drawing two of their 14 matches over five tournaments, including this one.

In addition, Mozambique have never kept a clean sheet in the premier continental competition, conceding 31 goals to date and allowing two or more goals in 13 of their 14 AFCON matches.

Failure to keep a clean sheet on Monday will see the Mambas draw level with Zimbabwe as the sides that have gone the longest period of time (15 games) without keeping a single clean sheet in this competition.

Chiquinho Conde‘s side did come agonisingly close to breaking their AFCON duck, though, when they faced Egypt in their opening match and came from behind to take a 2-1 lead but were heartbroken when a penalty was given against them deep in stoppage time, which Mohamed Salah stuck away to save The Pharaoh’s blushes.

Unfortunately, the Mambas were unable to follow up on that performance in match two against Cape Verde, as individual mistakes in defence led to them being comfortably beaten 3-0 and on the verge of elimination.

Ghana were sent crashing out of the tournament two years ago when they finished bottom of their group, and they will end at the foot of Group B this year if they lose this crunch match.

The Black Stars got their tournament underway in the worst way possible as they found themselves outplayed by group leaders Cape Verde and slumped to a 3-0 defeat, putting them under immense pressure early on.

Matchday two against Egypt brought out a better performance from Chris Hughton‘s side, who went into the match as the underdogs, but despite taking the lead twice, they were unable to hang on and had to settle for a share of the spoils.

That result marked Ghana’s sixth consecutive AFCON match without a win, which is their longest-ever winless run during their over six-decade history in this competition.

A win over Mozambique here will still not be enough to see the Black Stars claim an automatic qualification spot if Egypt beat Cape Verde in the other match, but four points will almost certainly be good enough to finish as one of the best third-placed teams.

Mozambique Africa Cup of Nations form:

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Mozambique form (all competitions):

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Ghana Africa Cup of Nations form:

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• D

Ghana form (all competitions):

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• W
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Team News

Lau King and Domingues were brought on at the interval during Mozambique’s loss to Cape Verde, and the pair will be vying for places in the starting lineup in the upcoming game against Ghana.

Conde also altered his side’s formation in their last match, deploying Atletico Madrid’s Reinildo in a back three, and it will be interesting to see if they continue with that on Monday.

Mohammed Kudus missed Ghana’s opening match against Cape Verde due to injury, but the West Ham United midfielder marked his arrival at the tournament with a stunning opener against Egypt before bagging a second goal midway through the second half.

The Black Stars have no injury concerns at the moment and could turn to veteran Andre Ayew to provide extra strength in attack after the Le Havre attacker remained as an unused substitute in the last match.

Mozambique possible starting lineup:
Ernani; Mandava, Dove, Mexer, Macandza; Guima, Amade, Witi, Bauque; Gildo, Ratifio

Ghana possible starting lineup:
Ofori; Odoi, Djiku, Salisu, Mensah, Ashimeru; Paintsil, Konigsdorffer; Ayew, Kudus, Williams

We say: Mozambique 1-2 Ghana

Ghana would have got some much-needed confidence from their performance against Egypt last week and the return of Kudus has given them a genuine attacking threat at the top end of the pitch. Mozambique will certainly not back down here, but we are backing the Black Stars to get the victory they need in this one.

Source: sportsmole.co.uk

Mohamed Salah has departed Egypt’s camp in Ivory Coast to do his rehabilitation at Liverpool following his injury against Ghana.

Egypt captain Mohamed Salah was forced off injured on the brink of half-time in the Pharaohs’ 2-2 draw against Ghana on Thursday.

The scans revealed it was a hamstring injury, with the EFA initially revealing that he will miss just two games, the final group game against Cape Verde, and the round of 16 tie in case the Pharaohs make it through.

However, it seems now that Salah will miss the entire tournament and return to Anfield to continue rehab with his club, as confirmed by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.

Asked about the possibility of Salah returning to Merseyside during his post-match press conference following Liverpool’s 4-0 win at AFC Bournemouth, Klopp said: “That’s the plan. If that’s already decided 100 per cent I don’t know, but that’s the plan.

“However long he is out, I think probably everybody sees that it makes sense that he is doing the rehab with us or with our people. That’s the plan, but if that’s now written in stone already, I don’t know.”

“[I spoke with him] directly after [the game], pretty much the night it happened. Since then, he’s in contact with our doctor. The doc tells me the news, so I think he will be back.”

On whether Salah could feature again for Egypt during AFCON, the manager said: “I’m not a doctor. I would say if Egypt qualify for the final and he is fit before the final then probably yes. Why not?

“That’s clear, it’s the tournament. Ivory Coast, I am sure it is a wonderful country, but we have no people from us there and their people have to take care of the players who are playing, so let’s see.”

Source: Kingfut

Egypt will look to secure a place in the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations when they face off against Cape Verde in their final group-stage match at Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium on Monday night.

With both matches in Group B kicking off simultaneously, the Pharaohs will see this as a must-win fixture, having only managed to earn two points from their opening two matches in the competition.

The game will kick off at 8pm.

Match preview

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations has already been an incredible one for Cape Verde, and it is far from over, as they are assured of a place in the knockout rounds regardless of the outcome of this match.

The Blue Sharks got their cup campaign off to a dream start as they overcame a sloppy Ghana side 2-1, thanks to a dramatic stoppage-time winner from Ankaragucu forward Garry Rodrigues.

That gave Cape Verde a somewhat unexpected lead in the group standings after matchday one, but they followed that up with an even better performance last Thursday when they comprehensively overcame Mozambique 3-0 to secure the top spot with a match in hand.

Bubista‘s side’s victory over the Mambas was just their fourth-ever victory at the AFCON and was also the first time that the team had ever won consecutive games in their history in the competition.

While the pressure may be off The Blue Sharks in this match, they will still want to claim another big scalp here, which will also see them head into the knockout stages with incredible momentum.

Meanwhile, Egypt have struggled to make an impact in the tournament thus far and it began when they played to a 2-2 draw against group outsiders Mozambique in their opening match last Sunday.

In the next match, the Pharaohs recorded another 2-2 draw, this time against Ghana, and many may argue that the point they received was somewhat fortuitous, with errors from The Black Stars contributing significantly to the final outcome.

Prior to those results, Egypt had not conceded more than a single goal in 11 AFCON matches, and it was the first time that they failed to win their first two matches in this competition since 1992.

The Pharaohs are now in a precarious position as they could find themselves knocked out of the competition if they lose here and one of Ghana or Mozambique win the other match in the group, which kicks off at the same time as this one.

Egypt have only ever failed to make it to the knockout stages once in their last 12 appearances in this competition, and their task will be that much more difficult without the services of their captain Mohamed Salah.

Cape Verde Africa Cup of Nations form:

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Cape Verde form (all competitions):

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Egypt Africa Cup of Nations form:

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Egypt form (all competitions):

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• W
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• D
• D

Team News

Bubista has sent out the same starting 11 in his side’s first two matches in this competition, but with qualification already secured, the Cape Verde coach may consider handing starts to a few of those who have had limited time to make an impact.

If that were to be the case, the likes of Gilson Tavares and Rodrigues are among the favourites to make the starting lineup, having featured off the bench in both matches in the competition so far.

For Egypt, the major talking point is around the exclusion of Salah, who sustained an injury against Ghana in the last match and is expected to miss at least the next two matches for Egypt, provided they qualify from the group.

The absence of the Liverpool talisman could see Mostafa Fathi take his place as he did after Salah was withdrawn in the last match, while Trezeguet will also be pushing for a starting role after a bright cameo off the bench last time out.

Cape Verde possible starting lineup:
Vozinha; Moreira, Costa, Lopes, Fernandes; Duarte, Pina, Monteiro; Mendes, Bebe, Cabral

Egypt possible starting lineup:
El Shenawy; Sharaf, Hegazy, Abdelmonem, Kamal; Fathi, Elneny; Trezeguet, Ashour, Marmoush; Mohamed

We say: Cape Verde 1-2 Egypt

It is crunch time for Egypt, but they may have got a bit lucky with this being a dead-rubber match for Cape Verde, who are already looking ahead to the knockout stages. It will not be easy for the Pharaohs without their Liverpool star, but we fancy them to edge this one and join the Blue Sharks in the next round.

Source: sportsmole.co.uk

Morocco scored early but the pre-tournament favourites had to share the points in a 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo in their Africa Cup of Nations Group F clash on Sunday.

Achraf Hakimi scored in the sixth minute for Morocco, whose run to the semi-final of the World Cup in Qatar 14 months ago has made them the team to beat at the tournament in the Ivory Coast.

But the Congolese squandered a first half penalty before substitute Silas Katompa swept home a deserved 76th minute equaliser at the Laurent Pokou Stadium.

The two other protagonists in the group – Tanzania and Zambia – were meeting later on Sunday at San Pedro.

Gelson Dala scored twice as Angola beat Mauritania 3-2 to close in on the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Forward Dala reacted smartly to the rebound from a corner to put his side ahead, firing a shot against the turf and into the roof of the net.

Sidi Amar levelled for the Lions of Chinguetti with a dazzling run and finish two minutes before half-time.

Dala and Gilberto both struck to make it 3-1 before Aboubakary Koita’s spectacular consolation for Mauritania.