Egypt have reached the 2023 africa cup of nations in Ivory Coast after beating Guinea 2-1 in Morocco.
The Pharaohs are placed in Group D of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers alongside Ethiopia, Malawi, and Guinea.
With three wins from their opening four games, Rui Vitoria’s men needed just one point against Guinea in that game that took place in Marrakesh, Morocco in order to seal a spot in Ivory Coast.
The starting line-up for the Pharaohs didn’t witness many changes, with Marwan Ateya starting in the midfield alongside Mahmoud Hamada and Ahmed Sayed Zizo.
Mohamed Salah captained Egypt from the right wing, completing a three-man attack with mostafa mohamed and Omar Marmoush.
Egypt XI: Mohamed El-Shennawy, Mohamed Hany, Mohamed Abdelmoneim, Ali Gabr, Mohamed Hamdi; Marwan Ateya, Mahmoud Hamada, Ahmed Sayed Zizo; Omar Marmoush, Mohamed Salah, Mostafa Mohamed.
Guinea XI: Kone; A. Conte, Sow, M. Diakhaby, I. Sylla; Diawara, N. Keita, Moriba; Guilavogui, Kamano, Guirassy.
The game started very quietly from both sides until the fifth minute which saw Omar Marmoush fall on the ground injured, before being replaced early on with Trezeguet.
Egypt almost equalised instantly through Mohamed Salah as Trezeguet’s shot was parried away by the goalkeeper in the path of the Liverpool forward, who strangely missed the empty net from inside the six-yard box.
However, Egypt dominated the ball and managed to grab the equaliser in the 42nd minute after Mohamed Salah played Trezeguet through on goal, who easily beat the keeper to make it 1-1.
Guinea were the better side in the opening minutes of the second-half as Mohamed El-Shennawy had to save from Naby Keita, before Moriba also had a shot go wide.
This led Vitoria to bring on Hamdi Fathi and Ahmed Ramadan for both Mahmoud Hamada and Mohamed Hany.
The substitutions proved their worth as Egypt managed to go ahead in the 78th minute as Trezeguet played a low cross to Mostafa Mohamed, and the new FC Nantes striker smashed the ball past the keeper to make it 2-1.
Mohamed Salah had the chance to make it three in the 90th minute, but his curling effort went just wide.
With just a few minutes left on the clock, mahmoud kahraba and Mostafa Fathi were brought on for Mostafa Mohamed and Ahmed Sayed Zizo.
The Pharaohs managed to hold onto their lead and secured a 2-1 win that sealed their spot in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Moreover, Egypt are now on a six-game winning run since Rui Vitoria took over the Pharaohs, which became the best start for a national team manager since 2000.