Egypt fly to Malawi as 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification comes into view

Egypt’s national team have travelled to Lilongwe ahead of their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Malawi on Tuesday.

The delegation left on a private plane on Sunday afternoon, two days before the fourth-round match, and is expected to arrive in Malawi at 22:00 Cairo time.

The match will kick off at 15:00 on Tuesday, when Egypt visit Malawi in the latest fixture in their qualifying campaign. The squad held a training session on Sunday morning before departing as preparations continued for the game.

Egypt coach Ali Maher has left Mohamed Abdelmonem out of the travelling party so the defender can continue his treatment.

The Egyptian Football Association said the decision was made by Maher in coordination with national-team doctor Mohamed Abu El Ela. The Nice defender joined the camp with an injury and did not feature in Egypt’s first meeting with Malawi on Friday.

Egypt could secure qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday if results in Group B go in their favour.

The top two teams in each qualifying group will reach the finals. Egypt moved closer to qualification after the third round of matches, with Angola beating South Sudan 2-0 in stoppage time.

That victory took Angola to seven points, level with group leaders Egypt. Malawi are third on three points, while South Sudan remain bottom without a point.

Egypt have scored 10 goals in the competition so far without conceding, giving them a goal difference of plus 10. Angola’s goal difference is plus four.

Egypt will face Malawi away on Tuesday, while Angola travel to play South Sudan on the same day.

If Egypt beat Malawi and Angola defeat South Sudan, both winners will qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations without needing to wait for the final two rounds of matches.

Those results would take Egypt and Angola to 10 points, a total Malawi and South Sudan could not catch over the remaining two fixtures. The two teams would then compete for top spot in Group B.