Egypt vs Spain: La Roja to pick up a big win in the opening match of the tournament

Spain beat Egypt 2-0 in their only previous encounter at the 1992 Olympics. Will Luis de la Fuente’s men be able to win again? We predict La Roja will be much stronger.

For the Egyptian national team, participation in the Olympic Games is rare, almost exclusive, but whenever they make it to the competition, they always do well. The Egyptians finished fourth in 1964, reached the quarter-finals in 1984 and 2012, and failed to progress past the group stage only in 1992. Now Shawky Gharib’s men face Spain, Argentina, and Australia in the most challenging group, making their chances of success very small. Still, no one is safe from sensationalism at the Olympics.

Spain are one of the strongest national teams globally, but they have only won one gold medal at the Olympics in their history, and that came in Barcelona in 1992. La Roja were silver medallists in the 1920s and 2000s and have not produced any success since. The Spanish team are the main favourites in the tournament. They have six players from the squad featured at the recent Euro 2020 tournament: Unai Simon, Erik Garcia, Pau Torres, Pedri, Dani Olmo, and Mikel Oyarzabal. A powerful bunch who are capable of winning the long-awaited gold medal of the Games.

For the Spanish team, the rivalry with the Egyptians in the group stage of the Olympics is a good sign, as La Roja have won their first and last gold so far after their only ever head-to-head battle. In their most potent line-up, the Spaniards begin their journey to the title to match the Pharaohs. Certainly, Luis de la Fuente’s charges are the absolute favourites, not only in the upcoming battle but also in the whole tournament. Therefore we propose a bet on the victory of the Spanish team with a handicap (-2,5) at odds of about 2.76.

Before the start of the Olympic Games, the Spanish team played only one friendly game, in which they suffered a long time against the Japanese, but still managed to score the only goal in the end and brought the score to a draw of 1:1. They should not think that La Roja will be just as bleak in official matches. Of course not. By the moment, the Euro 2020 participants just came out of a minor holiday and have not yet entered a competitive mode. Still, for the confrontation with Egypt, the attack will undoubtedly gain a decent look, so the best option for the prediction looks like Individual Total 2 Over 2.5 goals for 2.26.

The Spanish team is the clear favourite in the upcoming confrontation with Egypt. So it will be vital for them to be active in the initial part of the game, get an advantage in the score, and quietly bring the matter to the final victory, trying to find chances in the counterattack. That is why Luis de la Fuente’s charges will have to be aggressive from the very first minutes in front of the Egyptian goal, and La Roja’s players will have enough skill to convert their superiority into a goal difference. In such a situation, it is worth looking at a bet on the first goal in the match from 1 to 28 minutes, inclusive for 1.89.