Egypt Face Do-or-Die Clash Without Salah as Cape Verde Aims for Upset

Considered one of the tournament favourites, Egypt suddenly face the prospect of a do-or-die African Cup of Nations group stage finale without their most coveted superstar.

The Pharaohs, having collected just two points through the first two games, are without injured Mohamed Salah as they match up against confirmed group winners Cape Verde with a spot in the knockout stage on the line.

Cape Verde have been one of the most impressive surprise nations thus far, beating Mozambique and Ghana to reach six points and confirm their place as the group winners even before playing the final match.

Egypt may come away with a vital win, but they will have to out-score this Cape Verde side which has proven capable of finding the net.

Striker Bebe has taken eight shots across the opening two matches, thriving on incisive counter-attacks. The Blue Sharks absolutely pummeled Ghana with two goals on 3.0 xG in the opener, before turning 0.79 xG into three goals against Mozambique.

Omar Marmoush will be the key creator for Egypt, pulling the strings against Ghana after Mohamed Salah went off with a goal on four shots plus three chances created.

Eintracht Frankfurt playmaker Omar Marmoush was Egypt’s best player once Mohamed Salah went off against Ghana, taking his chance to make the Pharaohs’ attack his own. Used to playing as a central striker for his German club, scoring 12 goals so far this season, he is deployed in a second-striker role behind Mustafa Mohamed with Egypt.

With the match expected to feature chances on both ends, there will be opportunities for Marmoush to influence the scoreline.

beIN Sports has the broadcast rights to the entirety of the 2023 African Cup of Nations in both the United States and Canada. The final round of the group stage is the only time when some games will not be televised, as simultaneous kickoffs necessitates some games being pushed to streaming only. Such is the case for this match between Cape Verde vs Egypt, which is only available to stream on beIN Sports Connect in both the United States and Canada. The remainder of the competition from the knockout stage on will be televised on beIN Sports, which can be found on both and .

Sky Sports has acquired the broadcast rights to the African Cup of Nations in the UK and will put games on Sky Sports Mix, with streaming available on Sky Go.

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