Egypt seek vengeance against Ethiopia
Egypt will square off with Ethiopia in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualification Group D match at the 30 June Stadium on Friday.
Kick-off is 6:00 pm CAT.
CURRENT FORM
The Pharaohs emerged as 2-1 winners over Guinea away on 14 June as they made it three successive victories in the group which saw Egypt qualify for the 2023 Afcon finals.
The seven-time African champions are placed at the top of the Group D standings – three points clear of second-placed Guinea who will be away to Malawi on 9 September.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia were held to a 0-0 draw by Malawi at home on 18 June as they extended their winless run to three matches in the group since defeating Egypt.
Walia Ibex are placed fourth in the Group D standings – level on points with third-placed Malawi with both teams having already failed to qualify for the 2023 Afcon finals.
WHAT WAS SAID?
Egypt head coach Rui Vitoria
“The next two games are very important for us,” Vitoria said on Ahramonline.
“The first is against Ethiopia which defeated us before and we know that it will be a difficult game and we will play to win to end the qualifiers in the first place,”
“The second game is against Tunisia and it will also be difficult and a good test for us.”
Ethiopia interim coach Daniel Gebremariam
“Our focus is not only on Mo Salah, when we play against any team, our players go to the field to leave their history and legacy,” Gebremariam said in a press conference.
“We are not preparing for it because we are Egypt, we have made the same preparation for all the games.
“All our players want to play this game, it is a program where we enter the field to show that we won’t win against Egypt in the first round by chance.”
Head-To-Head
Egypt and Ethiopia have met 17 times across all competitions.
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The Pharaohs have the upper hand in this rivalry having won three matches compared to Ethiopia, while three games ended in a draw.
However, their last meeting ended in a 2-0 home victory in favour of Ethiopia in June 2022 in a 2023 Afcon qualifier.