An Egyptian painter draws a mural depicting Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah in Cairo. Photo: EPA/KHALED ELFIQI
Afcon 2019: Egypt vs Zimbabwe set to kick off as Cairo weather soars to 37 degrees
It’s going to be cooking in Cairo for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
An Egyptian painter draws a mural depicting Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah in Cairo. Photo: EPA/KHALED ELFIQI
Egypt will kick off their campaign for a record-extending eighth title in the Africa Cup of Nations on Friday. The hosts will play Zimbabwe in the opening match of a tournament, which has been expanded to 24 teams for the first time.
Egypt vs Zimbabwe: LIVE SCORES
Egypt top the betting as favourites to lift the trophy in Cairo and have won the competition as hosts three of the previous four times, with the last of those in 2006 sparking an unprecedented run of three successive triumphs.
All our 2019 Africa Cup of Nations coverage
Fixtures, teams and results for all groups
- Group A: Teams, fixtures, standings and results
- Group B: Teams, fixtures, standings and results
- Group C: Teams, fixtures, standings and results
- Group D: Teams, fixtures, standings and results
- Group E: Teams, fixtures, standings and results
- Group F: Teams, fixtures, standings and results
Authorities are confident the infrastructure is in place to host the continent’s largest football contest, awarded to Egypt at just six months’ notice, and which kicks off against a backdrop of terror attacks and only days after the death of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Cairo weather a bone of contention
Players will have to contend with average temperatures of between 35 and 38 Celsius (after the decision was made to switch the tournament from its traditional January/February time slot to June/July to avoid European club-versus-country clashes.
The countries have met only once in a Cup of Nations with Egypt winning 2-1 in Tunisia 15 years ago and both teams were eliminated after the first round.
Group winners and runners-up qualify for the knockout second round along with the best four of the six third-place finishers.
Opening ceremony and kick off time
Kick off time is at 22:00 (SAST), but there’s an opening ceremony to get through before that. Read our full preview of the Group A clash between Egypt and Zimbabwe – including h2h record, TV stream info and more.
Cairo weather for the opening match
While it’s bucketing down in the Cape, it’s a different story. Highs of 37 degrees celcius were expected on Friday, with temperatures expecting to drop down to a modest 32 degrees by the evening. Balmy.
