South Sudan coach Christian Nsengi says Egypt’s absence of Mohamed Salah will not make Tuesday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier any easier, insisting the Pharaohs have enough quality to pose a major threat.
Egypt face South Sudan in the second round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, with Salah ruled out because the match will be played on an artificial pitch.
The Egyptian Football Association confirmed that the Liverpool forward would miss the game as a precaution against injury. Nice defender Mohamed Abdel Moneim is also unavailable for the same reason.
Egypt began their qualifying campaign with a goalless draw against Angola at Cairo International Stadium, while South Sudan lost 2-1 away to Malawi.
Nsengi said his side had prepared to face Egypt as a team rather than focusing on the absence of their captain.
“We respect the Egyptian national team a lot. They are a great team, they have won the Africa Cup of Nations 7 times, and they have a lot of quality and experience. Our goal is to put on a great performance and defend our chances until the end.”
Asked about the effect of Salah’s absence, Nsengi said: “Mohamed Salah is an exceptional player, but the Egyptian national team does not depend on just one player. They have a lot of quality and players capable of making a difference. Therefore, we are preparing to face the Egyptian national team as a whole.”
The South Sudan coach said his team had analysed Egypt’s attacking strengths but would not approach the match solely with a defensive mindset.
“We have studied the Egyptian national team and we know their attacking capabilities. But our goal is not just to defend, we want to be a cohesive and well-organized team, and also capable of creating danger when we have possession of the ball.”
South Sudan will enter the match looking for their first points of the qualifying campaign after the defeat by Malawi, but Nsengi believes his side can still challenge Egypt.
“In football, anything is possible when the team believes in its abilities and adheres to its game plan. We know that Egypt is the favorite on paper, but the match is decided on the field. We will hold on to our chances with all our strength and determination.”
The conditions surrounding the fixture have also attracted attention, particularly the decision to stage the match at 15:00 in difficult weather conditions.
Nsengi said his players would have to adjust to the circumstances rather than allow them to affect their preparations.
“We have to adapt to the conditions of the match. The heat and the timing of the match will be the same for both teams. We will focus mainly on our preparation, managing the effort, and organizing throughout the 90 minutes.”
The artificial playing surface has also been a concern for European clubs whose players are part of the Egyptian squad.
Nsengi said he understood why the clubs had reservations about their players competing on the pitch.
“I understand the clubs’ concerns. The safety of the players is important to everyone. For our part, we will make sure that the players are well prepared for this surface, and that they can play in the best possible conditions.”
Despite South Sudan’s opening defeat, Nsengi said his team would continue to pursue qualification while the possibility remained.
” We have to be realistic, but at the same time ambitious . We still have important matches ahead of us . We will take each match as it comes , aiming to get as many points as possible . As long as qualification is still mathematically possible , we will believe in our chances and fight for them .”
For South Sudan, the meeting with Egypt represents an opportunity to respond to their opening defeat, while Egypt will be seeking to improve on their goalless start to the qualifying campaign.
