Trezeguet Warns Bafana Bafana Ahead Of Boxing Day AFCON Group B Clash
Egypt striker Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet has issued a warning to Bafana Bafana ahead of their Group B clash on Boxing Day, insisting that the Pharaohs are ready to take on Hugo Broos’ side.
Bafana Bafana will face record AFCON winners Egypt at Stade Adrar in Agadir, in front of a capacity crowd of 45,480 spectators.
The encounter will mark the fourth meeting between the two nations at AFCON finals, following previous clashes in 1996, 1998 and 2019. Egypt hold the upper hand in those encounters with two victories, while South Africa have claimed one win.
Their first AFCON meeting came in the final group match of the 1996 tournament, where Ahmed El Kass scored the only goal as Egypt defeated hosts South Africa 1–0 in Johannesburg. Both teams progressed from the group, with Bafana Bafana going on to lift the AFCON title later that year.
The two sides met again in the 1998 final in Ouagadougou, where Egypt secured their fourth AFCON crown with a 2–0 victory. Ahmed Hassan and Tarek Mostafa scored in the fifth and 13th minutes respectively.
Their most recent AFCON encounter took place in 2019, when South Africa stunned hosts Egypt with a 1–0 victory in the Round of 16 in Cairo. Thembinkosi Lorch netted the decisive goal in the 85th minute to eliminate the Pharaohs.
Current Egypt squad members Mohamed Salah, Trezeguet and goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy all featured in that 2019 defeat. For South Africa, captain Ronwen Williams is the only player from that squad included in the current Bafana Bafana team in Morocco.
During the 2019 clash, Williams made three saves from three shots on target, while Trezeguet accounted for two of Egypt’s three efforts on goal.
Both Egypt and South Africa opened their Group B campaigns with 2–1 victories — Egypt defeating Zimbabwe and Bafana Bafana overcoming Angola — setting the stage for a highly anticipated showdown.
“Our goal is to make the Egyptian people happy,” said Trezeguet at a press conference on Thursday.
“We are ready for tomorrow’s match, and we approach every game as if it is a final.”
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan, who shared the Golden Boot with Benni McCarthy at the 1998 AFCON, also provided an update on his squad ahead of the fixture.
“The status of Mustafa Mohamed and Mohamed Hamdi will be decided after today’s [Thursday] training session,” Hassan said.
“I thank the Egyptian and Moroccan fans for their support. We are ready to face any national team — we fear no one.”
