Mohamed Salah's Egypt are ready for 'difficult Afcon' after being pooled with Bafana Bafana - 'There are no longer weak teams'

South Africa and Egypt are among the teams that played in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations held in Ivory Coast.

While Bafana Bafana reached the semi-final and ended up with a bronze medal, the Pharaohs fell in the Round of 16 to eventual champions Ivory Coast.

The two teams are among the 24 nations that secured their 2025 ticket .

In a draw conducted on Monday, South Africa, Egypt, Angola, and Zimbabwe were placed in Group B.

The last time Bafana played the Pharaohs in Afcon was during the 2019 edition. The former did well and ended up eliminating the hosts and favourites.

While Hugo Broos believes Egypt have what it takes to finish at the summit, Hossam Hassan is anticipating a tough battle in the pool.

“The second group includes strong teams, especially since football in Africa is developing for the better," Hassan told the media.

"There are no longer weak teams, as evidenced by the results that appeared during the recent tournaments, which witnessed the brilliance of new teams in the African football sky.

“The competition in the African Nations Cup will be difficult, of course, due to the presence of major teams in the tournament, led by Morocco, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and other teams with a long history in the African Nations Cup," he concluded.

Just like in the previous editions, Egypt have been among the favourites, but in the last two campaigns, they have not delivered. Their fans are hoping for a better outing this time around.

Bafana Bafana reached the last four hurdle in Ivory Coast explaining where Mzansi hopes they will win their second-ever Afcon title after the 1996 triumph.