After starting his campaign in the group with a sweeping victory over Djibouti 6-0, including a quadruple for Mohamed Salah and a goal… For TrezeguetThe “Pharaohs” team returned victorious from Sierra Leone 2-0 thanks to a brace also by Trezeguet, who raised his tally to five goals in three matches by scoring early braces (3 and 8) before the visitors reduced the gap through Lassina Traoré (57).
Thus, the Pharaohs team raised its score to 9 points in the lead, four points ahead of second-placed Guinea Bissau, which tied with its guest Ethiopia without goals, and 6 points ahead of each of the… Burkina Faso Third and Sierra Leone fourth, which defeated Djibouti 2-1 in this round.
The champions of the nine groups qualify for the finals according to the new system For the World Cup The expanded tournament will include 48 teams instead of 32, while the best 4 runner-up teams will compete in a playoff to determine who will compete in the international playoff.
And play Egypt In the fourth round on Monday against host Guinea Bissau, before the qualifiers stop until March 2025.
And it was Egyptian team On Thursday, he will play his first official test under the leadership of his former star Hossam Hassan Who was appointed in February after the “Pharaohs” were eliminated from the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations, succeeding the dismissed Portuguese Rui Vitoria.
Egypt played two friendly matches under the leadership of its new coach, where it won last March over New Zealand with a goal before losing to Croatia 2-4.
Hassan chose to play in a 3-4-3 system, relying on… Hamdi Fathi In the position of free defender, and the trio Mohamed Salah Mustafa Mohamed and Trezeguet in the attack, while goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy returned to the Pharaohs’ goal for the first time since his injury. African Nations Cup.
And he didn’t wait Pharaohs Only three minutes left until the scoring was opened by Trezeguet, who met Mohamed Salah’s cross from the right side with a powerful header that went past Burkina Faso goalkeeper Kylian Nykema.
And almost Imam Ashour He doubled Egypt’s lead in the sixth minute when he dribbled past two players and shot a ball that narrowly missed the goal.
Two minutes later, Trezeguet added the second goal when he received a rebound from the defense, dribbled and shot powerfully with his left foot, a wonderful second goal for Egypt.
The hosts’ performance calmed down until, in the 30th minute, Salah hit a powerful free kick that was blocked by the Burkina Faso goalkeeper in two shots.
Trezeguet demanded a penalty kick after being obstructed by Nikema, but the referee indicated that play should continue in the absence of video assistant referee technology.
The visitors pressed from the beginning of the second half and succeeded in reducing the difference after a header from Edmund Tapsoba was blocked by the goalkeeper El-ShenawyIt hit the crossbar and Traoré followed it into the net.
The Burkina Faso national team continued the pressure, and El-Shenawy excelled in repelling more than one dangerous attempt amid the decline in the level of the Pharaohs, who in the end maintained their third victory in a row.