Morocco coach Herve Renard said on Thursday he does not see himself as the key to Africa Cup of Nations success ahead of an intriguing match against his former side Ivory Coast.

The Frenchman guided the Ivorians to the title in 2015 to become the first coach to win the tournament with two different countries, having led outsiders Zambia to a surprise victory three years earlier.

“I’m not Morocco’s trump card. I’m lucky to be the coach of a Morocco team with quality players,” Renard said ahead of Friday’s Group D showdown in Cairo.

“In my career I had the good fortune to be coach of this Ivory Coast … I’ve simply been lucky to be in the right place at the right time, and the Ivory Coast will always be a magnificent memory.”

Since transforming the perennial underachievers into African champions four years ago, Renard has tormented them as coach of Morocco.

He ensured the 2017 title defence of the Ivorians did not last beyond the first round, and inflicted more misery in 2018 World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 triumph in Abidjan taking Morocco to Russia at their expense.

“If I had a secret I would try to put it in place tomorrow, but each game against the Ivory Coast is more than difficult,” said Renard.

“The past doesn’t hold much importance. We have to focus on the game tomorrow which isn’t just any group game. I think the goal of the two teams is to go much further in the competition.”

“The most important thing is qualification,” he added. “Of course it’s often preferable to finish in first place but sometimes you don’t get to choose, especially in a top level battle in Africa like this one.”

Egypt striker Mohamed Salah and captain Ahmed Elmohamady have rallied behind forward Amr Warda after he was expelled from their Africa Cup of Nations squad for disciplinary reasons on Wednesday.

Speaking in the wake of their 2-0 Group A victory over Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday that sealed a last-16 place for the tournament hosts, the pair, along with key midfielder Trezeguet, said the Egyptian Football Federation (EFA) had been too harsh on Warda.

The EFA gave no specific details about the reasons for Warda’s expulsion, but he has previously been accused of harassing a fashion model on Instagram and a complaint against him has been filed with Egypt’s Attorney General.

The #AFCON2019 action does not stop with three more games today! The big one sees Senegal take on Algeria with the chance to go three points clear on top of Group C. pic.twitter.com/krIPtg34la— SuperSport ???? (@SuperSportTV) June 27, 2019

Warda posted a video on Facebook in which he apologised to his family, his teammates, to the EFA and to “anyone who is upset at me or anyone I have upset.”

Reuters has contacted his agent to seek further comment.

“Women must be treated with the utmost respect,” Liverpool striker Salah said.

“I also believe that many who make mistakes can change for the better and shouldn’t be sent straight to the guillotine, which is the easiest way out.

“We need to believe in second chances … we need to guide and educate. Shunning is not the answer.”

Aston Villa defender Elmohamady, who held up two fingers on each hand to make Warda’s squad number 22 after scoring against DR Congo, said the EFA were wrong to expel the PAOK forward.

“Amr Warda is one of us and we all make mistakes. We will not leave Warda alone,” he told reporters. “Warda represented Egypt on many occasions before, and what we should do is to stand by him…

“No player should be held accountable for anything done outside the pitch. We support Amr Warda.”

Playmaker Trezeguet called on Egyptians to rally behind the player.

“We have lost an important player, but we have 22 men in the squad that carry Egypt’s name,” he said.

“If any player makes a mistake, the fans should support him because we are one team and one family and if we win the title we will win it together.”

Liverpool have confirmed their first signing of the summer, with teenage defender Sepp van den Berg joining from PEC Zwolle.

The 17-year-old centre-back arrives at Anfield for an initial fee of £1.3m (€1.5m/$1.7m) after the Reds saw off competition from Bayern Munich, Ajax and PSV to land the highly-rated Dutch under-19 international.

Liverpool have also agreed £3.1m (€3.5m/$4m) worth of add-ons, which will be activated should Van den Berg establish himself as a first-team regular at the club.

Sources have said that those add-ons relate to Premier League and Champions League appearances, and that the maximum cost of the deal to Liverpool, which would require the player to make close to 350 starts, is £4.4m (€4.9m/$5.6m).

The deal will be formally completed on July 1.

To read more: http://v.duta.us/k_iqTAAA

Afcon 2019 Matchday

Starts at – 16:30

Starts at – 19:00

Starts at – 22:00

Egypt beat Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 at Cairo International Stadium on Wednesday evening, to book their place in the knockout stages of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Pharaohs follow Nigeria into the Round of 16 with a Group A game to spare, thanks to first-half goals from Ahmed El Mohamady and Mohamed Salah.

DR Congo gave a good account of themselves on a hot evening in the Egyptian capital, but misfortune and a lack of composure at either end of the pitch ultimately cost them as they slumped to a second straight defeat.

The Leopards showed their intent from the onset with Trésor Mputu’s rasping volley in the third minute sailing into the grateful arms of Mohamed El Shenawy.

Egypt’s first chance came two minutes later and the Pharaohs were only denied the game’s opener by Marcel Tisserand. The DR Congo skipper with a timely touch to prevent Salah’s goal-bound effort from bulging the back of the net.

Tisserand was in the spotlight once more moments later, this time at the other end of the pitch. The burly defender looked sure to score as the ball fell to him in the penalty area, but he could only succeed in guiding his attempt onto the crossbar.

Egypt duly opened the scoring in the 25th minute, through their captain, El Mohamady. The Aston Villa right-back poking home after the Leopards failed to clear their lines from a routine corner-kick.

DR Congo, though, were not ready to throw in the towel and were denied by the post once more in the 40th minute. Jonathan Bolingi the unlucky customer with his looping header a few rotations too strong.

Egypt delivered the sucker punch right on cue two minutes before the halftime break through Liverpool’s Salah.

Mahmoud Trézéguet, the star from the opening game of the tournament, the architect in creating the goal for his teammate. The Turkey-based forward picked the ball up in his own half, weaved his way past a few defenders before feeding Salah who cut onto his favoured left foot before firing a rasping effort past Ley Matampi to double the Pharaohs’ lead.

The second half failed to really catch alight with the only notable chances falling to DR Congo late in the game.

Second-half substitute Yannick Bolasie came within inches of pulling a goal back for the Leopards in the 83rd minute, but his curling free-kick whistled inches wide of goal.

In the end it was another disappointing result for 2015 bronze medal winners as Egypt take another step in their quest of a record-extending eighth Afcon crown.

Egypt (2) (El Mohamady 25′ Salah 43′)

DR Congo (0) 0

Egypt: Elshenawy; El Mohamady, Hegazy, Hamed, Mohsen (Hassan 59′), Ashraf, Elneny, El Said (Soliman 68′), Alaa, Trezeguet (Ghazal 84′), Salah.

DR Congo: Matampi; Djos, Muzinga, Tisserand, Moke, Luyindama, Bope (Bolasie 64′), Maghoma, Mputu (Meschak 46′), Bolingi, Bakambu.

Holders Cameroon have had their request to replace forward Joel Tagueu, ruled out of the Africa Cup of Nations because of a possible heart defect, rejected by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

However, coach Clarence Seedorf said they would look to appeal the decision, which CAF have not revealed themselves.

“We are not satisfied with the decision. We need to go for it again, we hope there will be a change of position,” he told reporters.

“We did everything we had to do, we made our request 24 hours before the match and we still remain hopeful. It is only fair for CAF to allow us replace the player.”

Nigeria and Guinea kick us off in the #TotalAFCON2019 action today. pic.twitter.com/3I2ylZRy3w— SuperSport ???? (@SuperSportTV) June 26, 2019

Tagueu was withdrawn after a medical examination revealed a possible life-threatening heart defect.

The 25-year-old, who plays for Portuguese club Maritimo, had an “anomaly in his coronary artery detected by team doctor William Ngatchou, which risks his life if he were to play,” the Cameroon Football Federation said on Monday.

“On the advice of the doctor, the coach has decided not to risk the player, who is leaving the tournament.”

The doctor first detected the issue when Cameroon held a pre-tournament training camp in Qatar and subsequent examinations confirmed his suspicion.

Africa Cup of Nations regulations state that a player can be replaced up to 24 hours before the first game of the team concerned.

“A player on the final list cannot be replaced unless seriously injured at the latest 24 hours at least before the beginning of the first match of his team,” it says.

Cameroon got the defence of their title underway on Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Guinea Bissau in Ismailia.