PREVIEW: Liberato Cacace to captain New Zealand against Egypt

Defender Liberato Cacace will wear the skipper’s armband for the first time when he leads the All Whites out in Saturday’s international match against Egypt.

“When Baze (head coach Darren Bazeley) told me, it was an honour,” 20-cap Cacace (23) told a media briefing ahead of the fixture.

“To captain your nation, it’s a great opportunity. It’s going to be amazing.”

Cacace, who plays club football for Italy’s Empoli, steps up to the team leadership after injuries to regular captain Chris Wood (quad strain) and usual stand-in Joe Bell (groin).

READ MORE: Chris Wood and Joe Bell out, Alex Rufer in, as All Whites make squad changes >>>>

Bazeley and Cacace said they were hoping for a sellout crowd in the new Cairo stadium which has a 94,000 capacity.

However, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) have revealed attendance will be restricted to 30,000 amid security measures that remain in place three years after crowd restrictions were introduced to combat the COVID pandemic.

The New Administrative Capital Stadium was finished in January and Saturday’s game will be the first official match at the ground.

Regardless of the restrictions, the New Zealanders expect a large partisan home crowd.

“It’ll be a great opportunity for us to play in front of a big crowd and they’ll put a lot of pressure on some of the young boys, which will be great, and it’ll be a great opportunity for people to step up,” Cacace said.

The match is the semi-final in a four-nation tournament that has experienced changes to its name and venues since first announced.

Egypt coach: ‘The tournament is very important for us’

The Winsunited Cup, or W Cup as it was called at first, became the ACUD Cup and is now being called the Egypt Capital Cup by its hosts.

Regardless, the winner of Saturday’s semi-final will meet the winners of the other semi-final, between Tunisia and Croatia, in a final.

The two losers play off for third place.

Egypt are using the tournament as preparation for their 2025 World Cup qualifiers, which start on June 3, and go into the games led by new coach Hossam Hassan.

“The tournament is very important for me and the team,” Hassan told a media conference.

“We will be aiming for positive results and improved team performance to boost our confidence for upcoming commitments,” he said.

As a player, Hassan was Egypt’s all-time leading goalscorer with 69 goals in 178 games for his country.

His popularity with fans and their disappointment at Egypt’s recent poor run of form means the match against New Zealand will be his first chance to start to turn the Pharaohs’ fortunes.

“I promise the Egyptians and the political leadership that I will do my utmost to build a strong national team, restore Egypt’s rightful place, and fulfil the aspirations of the fans,” he said when appointed.

How to watch

The match will be streamed live and free by FIFA+. Follow the link below to watch.

Fixtures

Game to be played on Saturday March 23, 2024

Egypt v New Zealand
New Administrative Capital Stadium, Cairo, 9am (NZT)

Game to be played on Sunday March 24, 2024 

Tunisia v Croatia
New Administrative Capital Stadium, Cairo, kick-off 9am (NZT)

Game to be played on Tuesday March 26, 2024 (NZT)

Play-off for third place
Air Defence Stadium, Cairo, kick-off 9am (NZT)

Game to be played on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 (NZT)

Final
New Administrative Capital Stadium, Cairo, kick-off 9am (NZT)

Squads

READ MORE: New Egypt manager names his first squad for March match against All Whites >>>>

READ MORE: All Whites squad named for March internationals >>>>

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