The Egyptian national team concluded their Africa Cup of Nations preparations with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Tanzania on Sunday as they build the momentum in search for their 8th AFCON glory
A composed finish by Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan and a penalty by Mohamed Salah secured the win for the Pharaohs in their only warm-up match before AFCON 2023 kicks off on January 13 in Ivory Coast.
Coach Rui Vitoria utilized the friendly to assess some players, including Zamalek goalkeeper Mohamed Sobhy and left-back Ahmed Fatouh, both returning after over six weeks out injured. Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny, recently recovered from injury, also featured in his first match back.
The match saw Vitoria experiment with personnel ahead of Egypt’s AFCON opener against Guinea-Bissau. Sobhy’s inclusion suggests he could replace first-choice keeper Mohamed El Shenawy, while Fatouh staked his claim at left-back.
Trezeguet opened the scoring just before halftime, collecting a long ball from Ayman Ashraf and finishing coolly. Salah then doubled Egypt’s lead from the penalty spot after he was brought down in the box.
The comfortable win serves as a morale boost for Egypt ahead of their AFCON title ambition. The Pharaohs will be looking to Salah and Trezeguet to supply goals as they aim to lift the trophy for a record-extending eighth time.
Vitoria utilized substitutions, introducing Ahmed “Zizo” El Sayed, Mahmoud “Kahraba” Abdel-Moneim, Ali Gabr, and Hamdi Fathy, to give them playing time ahead of their departure to Cote d’Ivoire on Tuesday.
The seven-time African champions will kick off their campaign against Mozambique on 14 January, followed by a clash with Ghana four days later, concluding their group stage against Cape Verde on 22 January.
