Sports
Egypt hosts Angola in AFCON 2027 qualifying opener at Cairo International Stadium
September 24, 2026 at 03:32 PM · Updated 22d ago
Coverage
18 reports · over 13 hours
Egypt faces Angola on Friday in the opening round of Group 2 qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations at Cairo International Stadium.
- Angola's delegation arrived in Cairo on Thursday after completing a closed training camp in Morocco.
- Egypt, coached by Hossam Hassan, opens its Group 2 campaign against Angola, with Malawi and South Sudan also in the group.
- Mohamed Salah, Egypt's captain, has scored 66 goals in 119 international appearances across all competitions.
- The match kicks off Friday at 10pm Cairo time at Cairo International Stadium.
- Egypt's National Authority for Tunnels extended Cairo Metro and East Nile monorail operating hours until 2 a.m. Saturday to ease crowds around the match.
- Angola coach Aliou Cissé praised Egypt's Hossam Hassan and said his side faces several player absences ahead of Friday's match.
- Egypt coach Hossam Hassan called Mohamed El Shenawy's exclusion a purely technical decision and dismissed any suggestion of a crisis.
- Angola coach Aliou Cissé said he preferred not to open qualifying against Egypt, praising Egypt's World Cup run.
- Angola's first-time call-up, right-back Marsoni Sambo, said facing Mohamed Salah is daunting after watching him on PlayStation.
- Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said Mohamed El Shenawy's exclusion was purely a technical choice, unrelated to his injury.
- Mohamed Hani said the team will not drop below its World Cup level, noting that African football is becoming increasingly competitive.
- The match will be broadcast on beIN Sports 1.















