Egypt Look to Retain Perfect WCQ Record
FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Egypt vs Burkina Faso Odds
Both Teams Unbeaten Through Two Matches
On Thursday, Egypt (2-0) take on Burkina Faso (1-1-0) in the first World Cup Qualifier of 2024 for both sides. While he was absent from Egypt’s squad in March, star forward Mohamed Salah is available for the Pharaohs. Meanwhile, Burkina Faso’s star player Bertrand Traore is not in their squad, which should make keeping their unbeaten WCQ record difficult. At the same time, Egypt will look to remain perfect in qualifiers and should benefit from playing on home soil. Ahead of the match, we’ll cover the Egypt vs Burkina Faso odds.
Egypt vs Burkina Faso
Date & Time: Thursday, June 6th, 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt
Egypt vs Burkina Faso Head-to-Head
Egypt have never lost vs. Burkina Faso but this is the first meeting on the FIFA World Cup schedule for qualifiers. These teams last met in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Semifinal and drew 1-1 in normal time. Salah got on the scoresheet to score the opening goal of the match and Egypt ended up winning in penalties. Three of the last four meetings, in all competitions, have finished in 90 minute draws. All-time, Egypt are 4-3-0 vs. Burkina Faso in 90-minute matches.
Salah Back for Egypt
Egypt’s disappointing performance at January’s Africa Cup of Nations led to coach Rui Vitoria’s dismissal. The Pharaohs drew all three of their Group Stage matches and did the same vs. DR Congo in the Round of 16. Egypt ended up losing on penalties to crash out of the tournament much earlier than expected.
All-time leading scorer Hossam Hassan took over as Egypt’s boss following the tournament after harshly criticizing Salah’s decision to leave the tournament early due to an injury. Hassan denies a rift between him and Salah as a few sources have reported that Salah wasn’t in Egypt’s squad in March due to disagreements with Hassan. Now, Salah is in the squad for this batch of matches and he leads CAF World Cup Qualifiers, with four goals. All four of his goals came in the 6-0 win over Djibouti last November and Trezeguet scored both goals in the 2-0 win over Sierra Leone.
Some notable absentees from Egypt’s squad include defender Ahmed Hegazi, midfielder Mohamed Elneny and forward Omar Marmoush. Marmoush had an excellent season for Eintracht Frankfurt but just had hand surgery. Egypt are most dangerous up front with players like Salah, Trezeguet and Mostafa Mohamed. They’re also looking for their third straight clean sheet to open up CAF World Cup Qualifiers.
Traore, Kabore, Dayo Missing for Burkina Faso
This month, Burkina Faso have matches at Egypt and vs. Sierra Leone. Burkina Faso, now coached by former player Brahima Traore, are looking to remain unbeaten. They’re in second place in the Group A FIFA World Cup standings for qualifiers. Last November, Burkina Faso drew 1-1 vs. Guinea-Bissau and defeated Ethiopia 3-0.
Bertrand Traore, who spent the second half of the season on loan at Villarreal from Aston Villa, scored in both matches. However, Burkina Faso’s captain is not in the squad for the matches vs. Egypt and Sierra Leone. That could prove to be an issue for Burkina Faso, as he scored three of their four goals at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Burkina Faso made the Round of 16, with a 1-1-1 Group Stage record, but they fell 2-1 to Mali. Without Traore, Burkina Faso could rely on talented Bournemouth winger Dango Ouattara for goals, along with Lassina Traore. Defenders Issa Kabore and Issoufou Dayo are not in the squad either, as Bayer Leverkusen center back Edmond Tapsoba will have a lot of responsibility.
Egypt vs Burkina Faso Match Analysis & Odds
Egypt haven’t lost a competitive match on home solid for almost five years. So, it’s no surprise that the Egypt vs Burkina Faso odds price hosts Egypt as -300 favorites. Burkina Faso’s most prolific goal scorer isn’t in the squad, which hands a further advantage to Egypt here.
Salah scored just one goal in his last seven Premier League matches of the season with Liverpool but don’t be surprised if he finds his form with Egypt. Mostafa Mohamed has also provided three goal contributions in two qualifiers. Visitors Burkina Faso, who have never beaten Egypt, are +700 underdogs, while a draw is priced at +320 odds.
With a loss, Burkina Faso would fall five points behind Egypt in Group A, which is a mountain to climb. So, this is a match the visitors need to get a result in. Bettors can take Egypt -1, -1.5 at -120 odds, while Burkina Faso +1, +1.5 comes in at even odds. The Egypt vs Burkina Faso odds also price both over and under 2.5 goals at -110 odds for Thursday’s World Cup Qualifier.
