Egypt's Planned Changes For Bafana Clash 'Revealed'
by Reporter SL · Soccer LadumaFollowing their last-minute victory over Zimbabwe in their Africa Cup of Nations opener, Egypt have reportedly mapped out the changes they plan to make for their next match against Bafana Bafana.
The Pharaohs were close to a disastrous start to their 2025 AFCON campaign after the Brave Warriors took an early lead through Prince Dube, with the Young Africans striker opening the scoring in the 20th minute.
After sustained pressure on Washington Arubi’s goal, the Zimbabwean resistance was finally broken in the 64th minute when Omar Marmoush found the back of the net. Egypt then completed the turnaround deep into stoppage time, as captain and talisman Mohamed Salah struck a 91st-minute winner.
Up next for the record AFCON champions is South Africa, and according to El Watan Sports, head coach Hossam Hassan has already decided on two changes to the starting XI that featured in the opener.
The first is set to see Zamalek defender Hossam Abdelmaguid make way for the experience of Al Ahly centre-back Rami Rabia. Central defence has been a concern for the North African giants heading into the tournament, with Mohamed Abdelmonem struggling with injury issues and Ahmed Hegazi having fallen out of favour.
The same report claims Hassan’s second change will be the inclusion of Mostafa Mohamed in place of Emam Ashour. The Al Ahly midfielder was substituted in the 34th minute in Agadir by his Nantes-based teammate, a move the Egypt coach later described as a purely technical decision.
However, it now appears that Mohamed is set to start against Hugo Broos’ side, with Ashour still working his way back to full fitness.
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2025 Africa Cup Of Nations Afcon Africa Cup Of Nations Bafana Bafana Egypt Hossam Hassan