Sudan may be the lowest-ranked team in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group D, but Burhan Tia feels the Falcons of Jediane have a chance of defeating Egypt on Wednesday night.
The East and Central African team began their Cameroon 2021 campaign with a 0-0 draw against Guinea-Bissau before bowing 3-1 to Nigeria at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua.
Nonetheless, the 1970 African champions stand a chance of progressing to the Round of 16 should they silence Carlos Queiroz’s men in Yaounde.
Even at the pedigree of the North Africans, the tactician is not ruling out the possibility of his team wreaking havoc against the seven-time African champions.
“We respect Egypt, they have one of the strongest teams on the continent, but we will play to win,” Tia told the media.
Next matches
“Our team has a lot of high-quality players, this tournament is a great chance for them to present themselves, we have the motive to win.
“We will lose Salah Nimr’s services against Egypt, but we have ambitious players who will take the chance to prove their worth.
“Everything is possible in football, we might lose or tie, but we will play to win.
“I know the Egypt national team player capabilities, but I trust my players and I believe they have what it takes to advance further in the tournament.”
This will be the sixth encounter between both countries at the biennial African football showpiece, with Egypt having the upper hand with three wins to Sudan’s one while one game ended on a no winner no vanquished note.
Interestingly, the first-ever match in the Africa Cup of Nations was between Egypt and Sudan – it took place on 10th February 1957 in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital with the Pharaohs winning 2-1 courtesy of goals from Raafat Attia and Mohamed Diab Al-Attar.
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is expected to play a key role in this fixture as he has been directly involved in 64% of his country’s 11 goals in the competition, a higher share than any other Egyptian player.