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Victor Dias - January 9, 2024
Football supporters will keep a close eye on Group B of the Africa Cup of Nations this year. Many fans are backing Egypt to lift the trophy in this edition of the AFCON. Group B is interesting as it consists of Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, and Mozambique.
The first fixture of Group B will be between Egypt and Mozambique at Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium. Egypt needs no introduction as they are the most successful nation in this competition’s history. The Pharaohs won a record seven titles since the inception. Among Group B teams, they have the best FIFA ranking.
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah will give his best to secure Egypt’s eighth AFCON title. He is in excellent form for Liverpool this season and he is still waiting to win a major international trophy. As an individual player, he has won two African Footballer of the Year awards and become a football icon across the world.
Egypt have a rich history in this competition, the Africa Cup of Nations 2010 being the most recent one in which they lifted the trophy. In the last edition of this tournament, Mohamed Salah and his team were very close to lifting the trophy. However, in the final, they fell in a penalty shootout against his Liverpool teammate Sadio Mané’s Senegal.
Manager Rui Vitória is aware of the responsibility he is facing. After proper analysis, he has selected a balanced squad with Mohamed Salah and Mohamed Elneny leading the front line. In the defensive backline, he will expect Mohamed Hany and Omar Kamal to play an active role. The Pharaohs will aim to win this tournament.
Mozambique will make a grand return to the African Cup of Nations after an absence of more than ten years. In the qualifiers, they finished second on the table in Group L behind Senegal. In the COSAFA Cup, they finished third in Group C.
Manager Chiquinho Conde made an important decision regarding his team selection as this is a major competition for the team. He selected Elias Pelembe and Geny Catamo to lead the front line. The team recently defeated Lesotho by 2-0 in a friendly game.
In the last ten years, Cape Verde have made tremendous progress in this competition. They reached the quarter-finals in the 2013 edition. Also, in the last tournament, they reached the round of 16. Many top players are including Bebe, João Paulo Fernandes, and Logan Costa will feature in this edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. Their first group-stage fixture will be against Ghana.
Ghana are one of the best teams in Africa, they have won the Africa Cup of Nations four times. In the last ten years, they have successfully reached the semi-finals of this competition on three occasions. Even in the FIFA World Cup, they defeated South Korea who are one of the best teams in Asia.
Thomas Partey will miss this year’s Africa Cup of Nations as he is recovering from an injury. As a solution, manager Chris Hughton has selected Mohammed Kudus and Daniel Amartey to find a balance between attack and defence. They have all the qualities to top Group B of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Group B’s main two teams are Egypt and Ghana. This fixture will be full of action as both teams have a well-balanced squad. Cape Verde will fight for third place as they have a good record in this competition. This leaves Mozambique in a difficult situation. Their performance in the COSAFA Cup has been lackluster and they will likely adopt a defensive approach in their group-stage fixtures.
