AFCON 2023: Preview and prediction of Group B

The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) gets underway on Saturday, January 13, in Ivory Coast.

24 countries will be battling for the bragging right as Africa’s best team over the next one month.

Senegal are title holders after defeating Egypt in the last edition of the tournament in Cameroon.

Group B is one of the groups with lots of interests as it houses Ghana, Egypt, Cape Verde and Mozambique.

Let’s take a look at the expectations of the group ahead of the commencement of the competition.

Egypt

The Pharaohs are record-winners of the competition since its inception and have claimed it seven times. Egypt also hold the record for the most appearances at the continental showpiece with this year’s being their 26th.

A 2-1 win over Guinea in June 2023 sealed Egypt’s place in Ivory Coast as they finished top in Group D.

In the last edition of AFCON, Mohamed Salah’s team came close to winning the coveted cup again. However, in the grand final, they fell in a penalty shootout against Sadio Mané’s Senegal.

Among the many favourites for this year’s campaign is also Egypt with the North African side looking to conquer the continent again.

Ghana

In the last decade, the Black Stars have made the final of the AFCON on just one occasion (in 2015), losing to Ivory Coast on penalties. Chris Hughton will be leading the lead to the 23rd AFCON appearance.

During that period, the West Africans have been winners on four occasions but their last came 42 years ago.

Ghana had to wait on the last day of the qualifiers to book their place in the competition and have done very little to impress since then.

In fact, Hughton is under immense pressure both from the Ghana Football Association and the Ghanaian populace to do well.

A goalless draw against Namibia in their pre-AFCON friendly has raised concerns once again but the Irish trainer would be delighted West Ham United man Mohammed Kudus has finally joined the team’s camp.

Cape Verde

When Cape Verde debuted at the 2013 AFCON and finished as quarterfinalist, they were regarded as one of the teams to look out for in the coming years. However, things have not gone to plan.

They will be playing in just their fourth AFCON but will definitely be one of the underdogs to look out for. Bubista’s men are no strangers to causing upsets and could blow Group B apart on a good day.

With just one win in their last five games, Cape Verde will hope the narrative is different before their first game against Ghana on January 14 before going on to face Mozambique and Egypt.

Mozambique

A return to the continental tournament for the first time in over 10 years will delight the people of Mozambique but they will be looking at one step further. This will be Mozambique’s first AFCON appearance since 2010, having previously featured in 1986, 1996 and 1998.

Chiquinho Conde’s side has been at the AFCON on three occasions with this year’s being their fourth. They have, however, failed to go past the group stage in their previous participations.

A thrilling 3-2 win over Benin in September did the magic for them in ensuring their return to the competition as they secured second place in Group L, behind the formidable African champions, Senegal.

Could this be the year Ghana end their long wait? Are Egypt truly favourites? The answers could soon be unfolding in Ivory Coast in the next month.