Sudan eye Egypt's scalp in must-win tie

Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz speaks during a pre-match press briefing in Yaounde on January 18, 2022. AFP

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On their part, three times champions Nigeria will be hoping to record their third straight victory following their 1-0 defeat of Egypt in their group opener and a 3-1 bashing of Sudan on Saturday to secure their spot in the knockout stage.

At a pre-match press conference in Garoua on Tuesday, Nigeria coach Augustine Eguavoen announced that defender Chidozie Awaziem will be available after recovering from an injury.

Bottom-ranked Group ‘D’ team Sudan will be aiming to cause an upset and reach the next round when they take on record-time champions Egypt in their last group fixture at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on Wednesday

The 1970 winners Sudan are two points behind Egypt and a victory against the Pharaohs in the Nile Derby at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in the capital, Yaoundé will see the Falcons of Jediane advance to the knockout stage.

Egypt, who are second on the group with three points, need only a point to guarantee their passage into the last 16, but will want all three points to finish the group stages after failing to impress in their first two games.

Sudan has been winless in their two previous group games, settling for a goalless draw in their opener against Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday, January 11 before losing to group leaders Nigeria 3-1 on Saturday.

Sudan coach Burhan Tia is confident mistakes of the last game will be corrected.

“We played a good game in our last match but made some mistakes,” Tia admitted during a pre match press conference in Yaounde on Tuesday.

“Egypt is a big team in Africa, but what we need is to quality. We respect the Egyptian team but we have a clear objective for this game.

We need a win in this match to qualify and that we will get,"  the coach promised.

Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz’s said the team spirit used during previous matches will be applied in the game against Sudan as they aim to avoid early elimination.

“Each time we play, we respect our opponents and we play out football. It is not an issue of big or small team, we are going to try to play better and win the match,” coach Carlos Queiroz said at the pre-match press conference.

He added: “We don't have any Covid-19 case but unfortunately, we have some players who are injured…They have the zeal to play the match. The unique thing to do is to bring back the three points.

Wednesday’s game between the two Arab nations will be their second encounter in just over a month. In their most recent meeting, the Pharaohs smashed the Falcons of Jediane 5-0 in at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar last month.

Over at the 30,000-capacity Roumdé Adjia Stadium in the northern city of Garoua, Guinea Bissau will face the already-qualifed Nigeira.

Besides advancing to the knockout stage for the very first time, victory for the Djurtus will also be historic as it will be their first-ever at the Afcon finals

In their inaugural participation in 2017, they drew 1-1 with hosts Gabon, registering their only point at the tournament.

On their part, three times champions Nigeria will be hoping to record their third straight victory following their 1-0 defeat of Egypt in their group opener and a 3-1 bashing of Sudan on Saturday to secure their spot in the knockout stage.

At a pre match press conference in Garoua on Tuesday, Nigeria coach Augustine Eguavoen announced that defender Chidozie Awaziem will be available after recovering from an injury.