Egypt qualified for the round of 16 in the tournament hosted by Cameroon after finishing second in a group that included Nigeria, Sudan and Guinea Bissau, while Cote d’Ivoire crossed at the top of its group that included Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone.
What does history say?
History smiles for the Pharaohs when mentioning their confrontations with Côte d’Ivoire, as Egypt has a great advantage over elephants in the history of direct duels, especially in the African Nations Cup.
Egypt played against Cote d’Ivoire 10 matches in the framework of the African Nations Cup, which witnessed one victory for the elephants, compared to 7 victories for the Pharaohs and only two draws.
The only victory for the elephants was at the expense of the Egyptian team in 1990 when the historical champion of the continent participated in the second team to leave the first team preparing for the World Cup in Italy, which witnessed the second representation of the Egyptians in the World Cup.
The last confrontation between the two teams was in the golden age for both of them. Gil Hassan Shehata in 2008 collided with the terrifying Drogba team in the semi-finals, and the nominations were poured in favor of the professional team in Europe led by the Chelsea star, but Egypt hit hard and won 4-1.
The penultimate confrontation was the most important and most expensive in the history of the two teams, as Egypt crowned the final of the 2006 edition at Cairo International Stadium after a goalless draw with Côte d’Ivoire and then winning on penalties.
In general, the two teams played 21 matches, between the African Nations Cup and its qualifiers, the African Games, the World Cup qualifiers and friendly matches. The Pharaohs won 10 matches against 6 for Côte d’Ivoire, and 5 matches ended in a draw.
Ivorian force
At the present time, during the African Nations Cup, the nominations are in favor of Côte d’Ivoire, which is what happened in the last confrontation between them in 2008, which indicates that this does not mean much except that it is just speculation.
The situation is repeated with the advantage of Côte d’Ivoire because of its battalion of professionals, which gave it the advantage over Algeria in its last appearance in the group stage, to beat the defending champion (3-1) and contribute to his exit from the first round.
The Elephant list is filled with professional stars in Europe, led by Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal, England), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace), Sebastian Haller (Ajax Amsterdam), Frank Kessie (AC Milan), Eric Bailly (Manchester United) and Willie Poli (Wolverhampton).
But the Egyptian team owns the third-placed player in the FIFA “The Best” award for the best player in the world, in addition to being the top scorer in the English Premier League, Mohamed Salah will lead the dreams of the Pharaohs to confront the power of elephants and use history to cross into an Arab confrontation against Morocco in the quarter-finals .