Afcon 2021: Egypt vs Morocco Preview - Kick-off time, TV channel, squad news

Mohamed Salah’s Egypt would be out to prove they are genuine contenders to be crowned Africa Cup of Nations champions when they take on Morocco in a quarter-final clash at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium on Sunday.

Despite the Pharaohs reaching the last eight of this competition by dismissing Ivory Coast via a penalty shootout, they have been far from convincing.

But their opponents Morocco have displayed the brand of football that has had them being mentioned among the title favourites, even though they needed to come back from behind to claim a narrow 2-1 Round of 16 victory over Malawi.

The Atlas Lions are bidding for their first Afcon title since 1976, the only time they were crowned African champions.

They come up against Egypt who are on a quest for a record-extending eighth Afcon title.

Sunday’s potentially stormy contest is the first North African affair of the ongoing tournament.

TV Channel, Live Score & How To Watch

Squads & Team News

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Egypt will be without goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy who picked up a hamstring strain in their last match against Ivory Coast.

Zamalek stot-stopper Mohamed Abou-Gabal Gabaski is expected to be in goal after his penalty shootout heroics when he replaced El Shenawy against the Ivorians.

Uncertainty surrounds the availability of defensive midfielder Hamdi Fathi who limped off with injury towards the end of the Ivory Coast game.

Al Ahly defender Akram Tawfik will not take part in the remainder of this tournament, having torn his anterior cruciate ligament in the opening match against Nigeria.

The encouraging news in the Pharaohs camp is that all Covid-19 tests conducted on players ahead of Sunday’s clash came back negative.

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No Morocco player is suspended after they finished the Malawi game with a clean discipline record as they had no single yellow card issued to any of their players.

Despite Wolverhampton Wanderers Romain Saiss not completing Friday’s training session with concerns about his knee, he is expected to feature on Sunday.

The Atlas Lions coach Vahid Halilhodzic has said the “competition is strong” for Zamalek attacker Achraf Bencharki’s position, hinting the player might not play his first game of this tournament.

Match Preview

It is five years since Egypt and Morocco last met at the Afcon finals and interestingly, their last date was a quarter-final clash in Gabon and the Pharaohs prevailed 1-0 on their way to the final.

But history favours the Atlas Lions in their meetings with Egypt at Afcon, as Morocco have won three of the previous six encounters, while their North African rivals have won twice, with the other matches ending in draws.

As Morocco have not reached the Afcon semi-finals since 2004, Egypt have won each of their last four quarter-final matches at the tournament.

Halilhodzic’s men are yet to taste defeat in Cameroon but Egypt started their campaign with a 1-0 loss to Nigeria.

The Atlas Lions have also scored in every match they have played and have a tally of seven goals in four games.

The Pharaohs, on the other hand, have failed to find the target in two matches and have managed just two goals in four outings in what could be a worrisome record for coach Carlos Queiroz.