Zimbabwe to face Egypt in Afcon 2019 opener next June 21
The kickoff of the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be given on 21 June 2019 at the Cairo International Stadium in the presence of fans and high profile personalities of the football galaxy.
This is the first edition of a 24 countries Afcon held in June-July. In the headquarters of most of the novices at this competition namely Burundi, Mauritania, or Madagascar, the temperature rises as we approach the D-Day.
In the camp of the regulars of this competition, concentration has reached its peak. After being defeated in the final phase of Afcon 2017 in Gabon by the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Egypt, the host country, is once again in the race for an eighth continental title as it counts on its legendary Mohamed Salah who was involved on 4 of the 5 goals of Egypt at the 2017 Afcon (2 goals, 2 assists), best total of the competition with Junior Kabananga (DR Congo).
Zimbabwe and Egypt will clash for the second time in the history of African football. In their first encounter played some fifteen years ago, (January 2004), the Pharaohs defeated the Warriors by two (02) goals to one (01) in group stage.
This is the 24th time Egypt is taking part in a final phase of the Africa Cup of Nations. Out of the four editions that the country has hosted, Egypt has won three.
Egypt has reached the final in each of its last four Afcon competitions (winner in 2006, 2008, 2010, finalist in 2017), losing only one of its last 25 matches in the competition (18 wins, 6 draws) - this unique loss came against Cameroon in the finals of the 2017 edition (1-2).
The Warriors of Zimbabwe are returning to the AFCON for the fourth time. They finished at the bottom in their group in each of their previous 3 participations and never kept a clean sheet in nine games.
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