23 March 2011
MTNFootball.com will bring you live Play-by-Play coverage of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers this weekend – South Africa vs Egypt (Saturday from 20h00).
We will also bring you live coverage of all the goals as they go in around the continent on both Saturday and Sunday!
– South Africa v Egypt, 26 March, Johannesburg
– Niger v Sierra Leone, 27 March, Niamey
South Africa host Egypt in what could be a pivotal 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group G game at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Egypt drew 1-1 at home with Sierra Leone in their pool opener, and followed that up with a 1-0 away loss in Niger. By contrast, South Africa breezed past Niger 2-0, before securing an excellent point in Sierra Leone with a 0-0 draw.
Both Niger and Sierra Leone would be considered outsiders in Group G, even with the Egyptians having made a stuttering start to their campaign.
It is hard to know who will be favourites heading into Saturday’s game in Johannesburg. South Africa are in good form, a much improved side over the past 12 months, and homeground advantage will be in their favour against an Egyptian side who are notoriously poor travellers.
But Egypt have won the last three Nations Cup titles and retain many of the players who helped them to those triumphs.
The head-to-head record between the teams offers no clues either, with four wins apiece, no draws and eight goals scored by either side too.
The political turmoil in Egypt has not helped the national side’s build-up either, with no League matches having been played since January.
Despite the problems in their country they are still an experience side. But we have had a chat with the SuperSport United players Kermit Erasmus and Morgan Gould who went to Egypt last week and they were telling us that most of the players looked a bit sluggish as they have not trained in a long time due to the recent unrest in their country, Bafana Bafana midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi says.
Technically and tactically they are sound but their physical conditioning is not at the peak so we have to capitalise on that. We have to hit them with pace and speed and ensure that they dont stand a chance against us. Its going to be difficult due to the fact that they are a good side but they can still be beaten. But we should not focus on their problems back home and just concentrate on what we plan on doing on Saturday.
Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune says his side have players who can take care of Egypt.
“We have a good side, and have been working very hard. We have players who can take care of Egypt. We want to keep our number one spot and we will do anything to defend that position,” Khune says.
“We are playing at home and we are hopeful the fans will come in numbers to give us the support we need. And yes, I have spoken to Morgan as well in terms of defending the goals, who the danger men are and it was quite an insight which will be valuable at the match. I expect a busy day at the office because I know they can attack the whole match but we have prepared well for them.”
Any slip-up by Bafana and Niger could move to the top of Group G as they host Sierra Leone on Sunday. But by the same token, the Leone Stars see it as an opportunity to cement their status as genuine top-place finishers after two draws against the pool’s so-called ‘big guns’ so far.
“It is very important for us to go there and get the three points but it is not going to be an easy task for us. I still believe we can win if only we step-up our performance to that against Egypt in Cairo,” Sierra Leone midfielder Mohamed Bangura said.
His thoughts are echoed by his teammate, Ibrahim Bangura, who says: “Make no mistake, this is going to be a very big match for both teams. For us it is very important to boost our confidence and hope of reaching the Nations Cup finals. I truly believe if we play well and have a good day we can emerge victorious.”
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