Egypt drew 1-1 against Botswana at Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday. Egypt’s head coach played a rotated team after their qualification to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco before their game against Botswana. The team includes Omar Marmoush, Trezeguet, Marwan Attia, and Mostafa Mohamed, while Mohamed El-Shennawy was replaced by Mostafa Shobeir.
Botswana had the opportunity to rack the early lead when Omaatla Kebatho scored in the 8th minute after capitalizing on Egypt’s defensive mistake.
Not too after that Botswana and their fans jubilated, Egypt responded in the 15th minute through a goal from Trezeguet that leveled that game when he made a long-range strike, making it his 22nd goal for the Egypt squad.
Egypt were unable to convert chances despite playing on their land and securing the higher possession. Shobeir made a brilliant save in the 32nd minute that denied Kebatho from scoring another goal, ending the game at a 1-1 draw before the end of the first half.
Botswana focused more on their defensive side as soon as the second half began because of their need for a draw to qualify for the 2025 AFCON in Morocco.
Egypt fired a total of 29 shots and maintained 82% possession of the ball but were unable to turn all these into a goal. In an attempt to break the Botswana defense, substitutions that included Mostafa Fathi and Mahmoud Zalaka were made, but it was still not enough to destroy their opponent’s defense.
Egypt finished the AFCON qualifiers campaign as the leader of Group C with a total of 14 points, while Botswana came immediately after them after securing a draw with Egypt. While Cape Verde ended the campaign with three points and sat at the bottom, Mauritania ended with seven points in third place.
