Egypt vs Malawi Prediction: Mighty Egyptians to win this match

On Friday, Egypt will play host to Malawi in the first game of a mouthwatering doubleheader in qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. The match will take place at Cairo International Stadium. Both teams will enter the weekend with the same goal in mind: to put themselves in a position where they can clinch their qualification for the next round, which will take place in Ivory Coast. All four teams in Group D now have three points each.

Egypt didn't qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, so their goal will be to get into the 2023 AFCON and make it their record-breaking 26th time playing in the continental tournament. They missed the continental tournament between 2012 and 2015. The African football powerhouse started their qualifying campaign last June with a 1-0 win over Guinea thanks to a goal from Mostafa Mohamed. Four days later, they were brought back down to earth when they lost 2-0 to Ethiopia, which was a big surprise. With 12 points still up for grabs in Group D, Egypt has a lot of reason to be hopeful. They are the most decorated team in AFCON history, having won seven continental titles. Vitoria's team is also in good shape going into the weekend. Since losing 4-1 to South Korea in a friendly last June, they have won their last three games, scored eight goals, and given up only one.

We don't think Malawi will be easily beaten because the Southeast African country has shown that it wants to make it to two straight AFCONs for the first time. Last year, when they played for the first time in over a decade, the Flames were one of the four best losers in Cameroon. However, a 2-1 loss to Morocco in the quarterfinals put an end to their tournament. Malawi's form before their return to the qualifiers isn't anything to write home about, though. They have three points from their first two games thanks to a 2-1 win over Ethiopia on June 5. Malawi will be encouraged by the way they have been doing in their AFCON qualifiers. They have won three of their last four qualifiers, dating back to November 2020, when they tied 0-0 with Burkina Faso. But they have to beat a star-studded Egypt team, which hasn't lost in seven of the last 10 games between the two countries.

In spite of the fact that they will be playing at home, Egypt comes into the weekend riding a wave of momentum that gives them an additional advantage. In order to pull off an upset, Malawi will need to pull a rabbit out of their hat, but we think the home team will come out on top in what could be an exciting competition.