Egypt and especially Mohamed Salah will be highly motivated to show commitment and quality in the opening match against Zimbabwe.

In the final preparation friendly, Egypt defeated Nigeria 2-1, underlining their ability to compete deep into this tournament. Current form is encouraging, with no defeats in competitive matches and only a couple of losses coming in friendlies.

Zimbabwe enter this fixture in worrying form. The team failed to win any of their World Cup qualifiers and, across four matches, did not score a single goal. Preparation has also been poor, with two additional defeats in recent friendlies.