New Zealand and Egypt clash at BC Place in their second Group G fixture at the FIFA World Cup, with both teams seeking their first win in the tournament.
The North Africans have been generally solid lately and will be confident of getting the better of the All Whites, who have found things difficult.
Key Stats
- New Zealand are winless in nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
- New Zealand have lost seven of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
- Egypt are unbeaten in five of their last six matches in all competitions.
- Egypt won the only previous meeting between both teams.
One Previous Meeting
There have been just one previous meeting between the two teams, with Egypt claiming a 1-0 victory in a friendly back in 2024.
A Credible Opening Performance
New Zealand were held to a 2-2 draw by Iran in their opening Group G fixture. They led twice thanks to a brace from Elijah Just, but were pegged back both times.
Manager Darren Bazeley will take a few positives from the performance as his team looked lively in attack. The link-up between Just and Chris Wood also looked promising, with both men combining for the goals.
However, the result maintains a recent poor run for New Zealand, who have won just one of their last 10 matches in all competitions. The All Whites have also suffered seven defeats in this run.
Pharaohs Raring to Go
Egypt come into this clash off the back of a 1-1 draw with Belgium in their opening fixture. They struck early in the contest through Emam Ashour but could not see out the win.
While manager Hossam Hassan will be disappointed not to have held on for the win, he will take plenty of positives from the performance. The Pharaohs looked lively in attack and created a number of scoring opportunities while also maintaining their discipline at the back.
The draw with Belgium means Egypt are now unbeaten in four of their last five matches in all competitions. With the North Africans looking to kick on from there, the task will be to get Mohamed Salah firing in attack and also improving their end product in attack.
Team News and Predicted Line-ups
New Zealand (4-2-3-1): Max Crocombe; Tim Payne, Finn Surman, Michael Boxall, Liberato Cacace; Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic; Callum McCowatt, Sarpreet Singh, Elijah Just; Chris Wood.
Given the positives from the opening game, New Zealand are unlikely to make too many changes to the team. Wood and Just should feature in attack once again, while Boxall and Surman should continue in central defence.
Egypt (4-2-3-1): Mostafa Shobeir; Mohamed Hany, Yasser Ibrahim, Hamdy Fathy, Ahmed Fatouh; Marwan Attia, Mohanad Lasheen, Mostafa Ziko, Mohamed Salah, Emam Ashour, Omar Marmoush.
Egypt are likely to continue with a similar team to the one that started the opening fixture, with Salah set to continue in his new role behind Marmoush. Ibrahim and Fathy are also expected to maintain their partnership at centre-back.