Egypt vs Burkina Faso Prediction & Betting Tips - World Cup

Prediction published on 06/06/2024, 06:57  by Daniel Ngulu in World Cup Predictions

Egypt and Burkina Faso are two nations looking to rise from recent lows. Drawn in Group A, they will face off on Thursday in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, a match hosted by Egypt. The hosts go into the game topping the group on six points while Burkina Faso are second, two points back. With only the top team advancing to the World Cup finals automatically, Egypt will see this as a chance to open up a gap at the top. In their opening two group games, they scored six times and are yet to concede a goal. However, in the run up to this game, they haven't been on a great run, winning just once in the last six matches. In their most recent outing, the Pharaohs suffered a 4-2 defeat at home to Croatia. The one area that will fill Egypt with optimism coming into this game is their attacking form. They’ve scored in each of their last 21 matches, spanning two years. While they have Mo Salah’s experience, Mostafa Mohamed has emerged as a top performer in recent times. The Nantes forward has scored six times in Egypt’s last nine matches. However, Egypt haven't matched their attacking prowess with defensive solidity. In the last six matches, they managed just one clean sheet.

Burkina Faso, like Egypt, had a dismal showing at the AFCON competition earlier this year. They will thus come into this encounter seeking to bounce back in competitive action. Heading into this fixture, they’ll be keen to build on their win over Ethiopia on Match Day 2 of the qualifiers. That was a good showing after playing to a 1-1 draw with Guinea-Bissau in their opening fixture. Bertrand Traore scored in both Match Days and will be a key player to watch here too. Burkina Faso however haven't fared well after those opening two rounds. Ahead of this game, they are in search of their first win in five matches. Three of those five games ended in defeat, but they improved in the most recent, drawing 1-1 with Niger. As they seek a return to winning ways, Burkina Faso will also be grappling with a leaky defence. Four times in the last five matches, they conceded two goals and they have one clean sheet only in eight matches. The West Africans will however take positives in their away form in World Cup qualifiers. They are unbeaten in the last four, winning three.