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Egypt, Burkina Faso in crunch World Cup qualifier clash
Mohamed Salah of Egypt ©Weam Mostafa/BackpagePix
Wednesday Jun 05, 2024. 15:00
Egypt and Burkina Faso will have a crunch 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier clash when they meet at the Cairo International Stadium on the evening of Friday 7 June 2024.
Kick-off is at 21:00 CAT.
Egypt have claimed a full haul of six points in Group A, having beaten Djibouti 6-0 at home and Sierra Leone 2-0 away back in November 2023, and top the group by two points.
The Pharaohs have brought star man Mohamed Salah back into the squad (after he was rested for the March international break), with coach Hossam Hassan not taking anything for granted despite his team’s strong start to the qualifiers.
“Football in Africa is no longer as straightforward as it used to be,” Hassan explained. “All CAF teams are continuously developing and improving, both technically and physically. However, we are prepared for any challenges that come our way.”
He added, “The current generation boasts some great players, led by Salah and Trezeguet, and I hope they will bring home trophies with the national team and secure a spot in the World Cup.”
Burkina Faso look to be Egypt’s main rivals in the group and they are placed second on four points after a 1-1 draw with Guinea-Bissau and 3-0 win over Ethiopia in November.
However, they will be without key men Bertrand Traore (who scored in both November matches) and Issoufou Dayo, leaving coach Brama Traore shorn of two of his best players for his first competitive matches in charge of the Stallions.
“I communicated at length with Bertrand. I told him face to face, football is like that. We talked a lot. He revealed certain things to me. I was not there at the moment, it did not concern me,” said the coach.
In head-to-head stats, Egypt and Burkina Faso have met in seven previous matches, dating back as far as 1973. The Pharaohs boast an unbeaten record, with five wins and two draws in the sequence.
The teams last met in the semifinals of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, playing out a 1-1 draw in Libreville before the North Africans triumphed on penalties.
Egypt will go on to face Guinea-Bissau away from home on June 10, while Burkina Faso will ‘host’ Sierra Leone in Bamako on the same day.
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