The proudest history, the biggest records, one of the favourites heading into this month’s tournament. Morocco and Senegal might be the big two right now, but Egypt have been Africa Cup of Nations winners on seven occasions and will have an air of expectation about them to go far once more this year.
And, adding reason and weight to that expectation, they have Mohamed Salah. The 31-year-old is the Pharaohs’ captain, one of Africa’s all-time best footballers and heads to the tournament in the Ivory Coast in a rich vein of form. He’s also likely to become Egypt’s record goalscorer sooner or later, currently sat 13 behind the great Hossam Hassan, who netted his 68 goals across 178 caps. To further cement Salah’s own legacy in the international arena, he will - barring one of the biggest shock group stage exits ever - become a centurion himself during the course of the 2023 Afcon.
