Prediction: Egypt vs Colombia

Verdict: Away win

Best Odds: 8/15

Bookmaker: bet365

Deprived of star player Mohamed Salah, who may recover in time for the 2018 World Cup finals, Egypt will attempt to prove they deserve to be playing at the highest level. Colombia, on the other hand, have high hopes from the tournament in Russia and they will want to win their final warm-up game.

Egypt

Having failed to get past the group stage at their first World Cup finals appearance back in 1990, Egypt will be eager to fare better having ended a 28-year wait for the second participation at the showpiece tournament. It was Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah who had a key role to play on the road to Russia, scoring in back to back wins over Uganda and Congo to seal the qualifying berth. His 94th-minute winner against Congo sent the entire nation into frenzy, but the entire Egypt now faces an anxious wait to see whether their star player will take part at the tournament finals.

Namely, the highly rated forward picked up a shoulder injury in the Champions League final against Real Madrid, but the Egyptian FA, as well as head coach Hector Cuper, believe Salah will not spend more than three weeks on the sidelines. He could, however, miss the opening fixture against Uruguay, so the game against Colombia will be a good test to see how the team will fare without him.

Team News

Mohamed Salah is obviously missing through injury, while Karim Hafez is also unlikely to feature in Egypt’s penultimate warm-up game.

Colombia

Colombian national team have been on a major uptrend over the last decade or so and they have especially impressed under Jose Pekerman. The Argentine coach led Los Cafeteros to 2014 World Cup quarter-finals and a third-place finish at the 2016 Copa America Centenario, and the team hope they can also impress in Russia. Colombia have done really well in the built-up, defeating China and France, while sharing spoils with Australia, and they are now eager to defeat Egypt as well.

Jose Pekerman has already announced his final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup, serving up several surprises. Teo Gutierrez, Duvan Zapata and Edwin Cardona have all failed to make the cut, while Johan Mojica, Jose Izquierdo and Jefferson Lerma made it through. The likes of Radamel Falcao, Juan Cuadrado and James Rodriguez are the star names in the squad and they are the ones expected to pull the weight when the going gets tough.

Team News

There have been no fresh injuries for Jose Pekerman and this is a chance for him to test the starting line-up he could use in the World Cup opening fixture.

Key Factors to Consider

• The two sides have never met before
• Egypt winless in last four matches (D2 L2)
• Both teams scored in five of Colombia’s last seven fixtures
• Mohamed Salah missing for Egypt
• Los Cafeteros should be at full strength

Conclusion

Having struggled in recent warm-up games and with star player Mohamed Salah sorely missed, we seriously doubt Egypt will be able to stop high-flying Colombia in their tracks, especially given that Los Cafeteros will be at full strength.

Verdict: Away win

Best Odds: 8/15

Bookmaker: bet365