90min
·2 August 2024
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Yahoo sports90min
·2 August 2024
Egypt will look to remain unbeaten at the 2024 Paris Olympics as the Pharaohs face off against Paraguay in the quarter-finals.
Just three days after Egypt and Paraguay played their final group stage match at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, both sides will meet in the knockout stage. The Pharaohs defeated Spain, one of the gold medal favorites, to win Group C. Rogerio Micale's men have also only conceded one goal in the tournament so far.
Paraguay's defense had a much tougher start; they conceded five goals (while down a man) in their opening fixture against Japan, and then two more to Israel. La Albirroja still managed a second-place finish in Group D, though, and earned their spot in the quarter-finals, where they will look to be the first team at the 2024 Paris Olympics to defeat Egypt.
Here's 90min's guide to Egypt vs Paraguay at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Ibrahim Adel scored two goals against Spain to secure all three points for Egypt. / Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/GettyImages
Ahmed Kouka has shown no signs of the foot injury that prevented him from playing Egypt's first fixture against the Dominican Republic. In fact, the midfielder scored the winner against Uzbekistan and played 180 minutes in Egypt's final two matches. Expect the 23-year-old to once again start in the midfield, along with Mohamed Elneny and Mohamed Shehata.
Ibrahim Adel, meanwhile, has been one of Egypt's best players this summer, and is coming off scoring a brace against Spain.
Egypt predicted lineup vs Paraguay ( 4-1-2-3 ): Alaa; El Debes, Fayed, Abdelmeguid, Eid; Elneny; Shehata, Kouka; Zizo, Faisal, Adel
Marcelo Fernandez has scored three goals in Paraguay's last two matches. / JULIEN DE ROSA/GettyImages
Paraguay bounced back from their crushing 0-5 defeat against Japan thanks in part to outstanding efforts from Marcelo Fernandez, who scored three goals in La Albirroja's final two group stage fixtures. Diego Gomez and Julio Enciso are also having a great tournament, and the two will need to continue to pitch in on the attack if Paraguay want to beat Egypt.
Paraguay predicted lineup vs Egypt ( 4-4-2 ): R. Fernandez; Nunez, Balbuena, de Jesus, Rivas; M. Fernandez, M. Gomez, D. Gomez, Cantero; Enciso, Perez
Although Paraguay are coming into the quarter-finals on the back of two consecutive victories, they do not have the defensive prowess needed to grind out a result against Egypt. The Pharaohs might not score a ton of goals, but they will have success against a backline that has conceded seven goals so far at the 2024 Paris Olympics.