Sparks will fly as defending champions Egypt take on Guinea in the U23 AFCON on Tuesday evening. Which of these teams will secure a place in the final at the end of this match?
We would like to point out that Egypt finished at the top of Group B; they accumulated seven points from a possible nine, earning their place in the last four. On the other hand, Guinea amassed four points from three group games; and although they were tied on points with Ghana, Morlaye Cisse's men went through on goal difference.
Egypt finished top of Group B after defeating Gabon with 2 goals in the last 10 minutes ⚽️⚽️ #TotalEnergiesAfricaCupofNations U23 semis
Morocco 🇲🇦 v Mali 🇲🇱
Egypt 🇪🇬 v Guinea 🇬🇳 #TotalEnergiesAFCONU23 #GABEGY pic.twitter.com/Nt1dnZ4mcZ— Alie Bittar (@bittar32) July 2, 2023
It may also interest you to know that the winner of this match will get to play in the Summer Olympics in Paris next year; they'll also advance to the final which will be played on Saturday. Meanwhile the loser will feature in the third-place match, where they'll get a chance to steal the third automatic Olympic spot. That said, there's a lot at stake for these teams, so we should expect them to give their all to win it.
Prediction 1: Egypt to win
We would like to kick-start our Egypt vs Guinea predictions by backing the Egyptians to win. Granted, Guinea have put up a fairly decent run of results lately; as they have two wins, two draws and two losses in their last six matches. However, Egypt have been a difficult team to beat; they are currently on a nine-match unbeaten run, with five wins and two draws.
It's also worth mentioning that the Egyptians won the last edition of this tournament, defeating every opponent they faced. Taking everything into account, we are leaning towards Egypt for the win.
Prediction 2: one team to blank
A hard-fought win over 10-man Gabon 🇬🇦 sees Egypt 🇪🇬 top their African Cup of Nations U23 group.
They will face Guinea 🇬🇳 in the semi-final. pic.twitter.com/Xxn2vtGiav
— KingFut.com (@King_Fut) July 1, 2023
To be fair, Guinea have scored their fair share of goals recently; they found the back of the net in their last four, and six of their last seven matches. However, scoring against this Egypt side is easier said than done.
We've already established that Egypt have no losses in their last five matches. Their recent success is due, in part, to their solid defense. Rogerio Micale's men went through the group stages without conceding any goals; they also kept seven clean sheets in their last eight matches across all competitions, conceding just once. All things considered, we shouldn't expect goals at both ends.
Prediction 3: under 2.5 total goals
Finally, let's explore the over/under goals market. Given that Egypt don't concede a lot of goals, it's no surprise that their matches tend to be on the low-scoring side. As a matter of fact, all of Egypt's last 13 matches featured less than three goals.
In the same vein, although Guinea have scored a fair few goals recently, five of their last eight matches also went below the 2.5 goal line. On that note, we are fairly confident that these teams will not score up to three goals between them.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 months ago
