Egypt vs New Zealand Preview
Egypt will have its first international agenda since being eliminated in the Round of 16 of African Cups of Nations in January. It is New Zealand that would be the Pharaohs’ first opponent in FIFA’s latest friendly series. The All Whites called 24 players for this round including teenager Lukas Kelly-Heald.
FIFA introduced a new system of friendly that allows one country to host several national teams from different confederations. Those guest teams will eventually play against each other in the appointed hosting nation to maximize cost efficiency. The Egypt series will be held from 22 to 26 March, putting some other countries on the invitation list such as Croatia and Tunisia.
Egypt and New Zealand will see each other again after almost 21 years. The last time both nations held friendlies was back in 1999. The first meeting on 10th of July ended in a 1-1 draw. Five days later, Egypt beat the host 1-0 thanks to Ibrahim Hassan’s goal.
Egypt vs New Zealand Team News
Egypt
The seven-time AFCON winners Egypt had a huge blow before the match as Hussein El-Shahat was ruled out due to injury. The 31-year-old winger was having a positive form with his team Al-Ahly, scoring nine goals in 23 games. He is then replaced by Mostafa Shalaby.
There will be no Mohamed Salah as the Liverpool winger is currently undergoing a hamstring injury. Egypt manager Hossam Hassan surprisingly left Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny from this squad. Instead, he called an experienced Ahmed Hegazi to lead this Egypt team.
New Zealand
Darren Bazeley provided some fresh names on his latest national team call-up, including the Wellington Phoenix’s youngster Lukas Kelly-Heald. The 19-year-old teenager earned his first national team call-up after appearing in 23 league games for the capital city side.
Apart from Kelly-Heald, Bazeley also included several young names such as Matthew Garbett, Ben Old, Alex Paulsen, Marko Stamenic, Finn Surman, and Ben Waine. All of them are eligible to play at the Summer Olympics.
Egypt vs New Zealand Predicted Lineups
Egypt
Even with the absence of both Mohamed Salah and Elneny, Hossam Hassan will likely rely on Nantes’ striker Mostafa Mohamed. Mahmoud Trezeguet is also predicted to start the game at Cairo International Stadium.
Predicted XI: Mohamed Abou Gabal, Mohamed Hamdi, Ahmed Hegazy, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Mohamed Shokri, Hamdy Fathi, Emam Ashour, Mohamed Magdy Afsha, Hussein El-Shahat, Mostafa Mohamed, Mahmoud Trezeguet
New Zealand
Apart from the newly-called youngsters, The All Whites also have some experienced names in their squad. The likes of Kosta Barbarouses, Dane Ingham, Ben Old, and Oli Sail are returning to the national team after missing the November international break against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
Predicted XI: Oli Sail, Tim Payne, Tyler Bindon, Nando Pijnaker, Dane Ingham, Callum McCowatt, Clayton Lewis, Matthew Garbett, Elijah Just, Kosta Barbarouses, Chris Wood.
Egypt vs New Zealand Head-to-Head Record
This will be the first time for both nations playing each other on Egyptian soil. Egypt and New Zealand have met twice previously with the aforementioned stays unbeaten in those games. Both matches were held back in 1999 with a span of only five days between the first and second meeting.
Egypt vs New Zealand Prediction
The higher position at the latest FIFA ranking (35th) puts Egypt in favour of winning. New Zealand on the other hand ranked 103rd, moving up one level after the latest international break.
Prediction: Egypt 2-1 New Zealand
Egypt vs New Zealand Betting Tips and Odds
Egypt have been unbeaten during the normal time in their last five matches, winning one and drawing four. One of the draw results led to the penalty shootout where they lost to Congo in the Round of 16 of the AFCON.
On the other hand, New Zealand are winless in their last five games. The best result they could get was a draw against Colombia earlier in December, before losing three days later against the same side. The other three were a back-to-back loss against Chile and one to Italy.
Betting Tips
Both teams to score: No
Over 2.5 goals: Yes – 2.36
Odds
Egypt Win: 12.8
Draw: 5.13
New Zealand Win: 1.38
Egypt vs New Zealand Timing and Telecast
- Date and time: Friday, 22 March 2024 – 8 PM GMT
- International: FIFA+
- India: Sony LIV
- UK: Channel 4
- US: Fubo TV
- Egypt: CBS
- New Zealand: ESPN