The Côte d’Ivoire national football team will play Egypt in Cameroon at the Stade Omnisport de Douala on Wednesday in the first knockout round of the Africa Cup of Nations 2021, with a kickoff at 7 pm.
Cote d’Ivoire had a comfortable run through the group stage, picking up two wins and a draw from their three games. They beat Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in their opening game before playing a 2-2 draw against Sierra Leone.
In their most recent match, Cote D’Ivoire defeated defending champions Algeria by 3-1.
The Elephants are returning to the finals of the continental showpiece for the eighth time in their last nine trips to the competition.
As a result, Ivory Coast will be looking to replicate the heroics of their 2015 campaign in which they won the tournament.
In their first match, Egypt was dominated by Nigeria, losing 1–0. However, they played higher against Guinea-Bissau and Sudan in their second and third games and won by comfortable margins.
For the third time in a row, the Pharaohs have reached the knockout stages of the AFCON.
Ivory Coast is unbeaten in their AFCON campaign and is the second-highest scoring team with six goals. In their opening match against Nigeria, Egypt failed to achieve the desired result.
Cote D’Ivoire vs. Egypt Head to Head
Both sides have 21 games against each other, with hosts taking 7 wins while opponents with 11 wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Ivory Coast 3-1 Algeria
- Ivory Coast 2-2 Sierra Leone
- Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Ivory Coast
- Cameroon 1-0 Ivory Coast
- Ivory Coast 3-0 Mozambique
Away
- Egypt 1-0 Sudan
- Guinea Bissau 0-1 Egypt
- Nigeria 1-0 Egypt
- Egypt 2-1 Gabon
- Angola 2-2 Egypt
Cote D’iVoire Team News
The Elephants don’t have any injured or suspended players heading into the knockout stages of this week.
Egypt Team News
Both Ahmed Fatouh and Akram Tawfik were injured in Egypt’s opener against Nigeria, though the latter was ruled out of the rest of the tournament. The duo is the only absentees from manager Carlos Queiroz’s side.
Prediction and Odds
Given the recent surprise exits in the competition, we feel Egypt might finally bow out with a defeat.
- Cote D’Ivoire Win
- Both Teams to Score
- Pepe to Score