The referee blows the final whistle. It's Egypt nil, Mali nil.
Three minutes of injury time..
Egypt right-back Ahmed Fathi booked for a foul on an opponent.
Sow cautioned by the ref after handling the ball inside the box.
El-Hadary rushes out of goal in time to deny a through-on-goal Marega in excellent fashion!!
Mali's free-kick headed high of the bar by Kalifa Coulibaly after a flick on from his namesake in the team.
Sporting Braga forward Ahmed Hassan 'Koka' replaces striker Mohsen.
Sow substitutes Coulibaly for Mali.
Salah comes off as Stoke City winger Ramadan Sobhi replaces him.
Salah yellow-carded by the ref for a rash challenge on midfielder Sylla.
Salah struggling for the ball with an opponent
Bissouma replaces Yatabare for Mali's first change.
Trezeguet sees a strike deflected as it goes out for corner.
WHAT A CHANCE!! A great cross by Trezeguet was headed by Mohsen towards goal but the keeper thwarts the striker! That was close!
Hegazy looks much more assured after the break than when he was at the beginning of the first half.
El-Said takes the free kick but plays it weak into the keeper's hands.
Free kick for Egypt after Mohsen has been fouled near the box.
The second half gets underway!
The ref blows the half-time whislte after a three-minute stoppage time.
A great team move involving Elneny, Salah, El-Said and Trezeguet ends up with the opponents' full back making a crucial tackle to keep the danger away.
Egypt defender Gabr challenging for an areal ball.
Egypt holder Hamed does great defending on the right side, as he looks his side's best peformer on the night.
Elneny slices a shot wide following another pass from Salah.
Egypt's attackers need to contribute more defensively as Mali looks threatening in their attacks.
A free kick from Sako turns out for corner.
Wague heads the ensuing corner high! Goal kick for Egypt.
Egypt look promising with the ball, passing from feet to feet, only to be frustrated with a mis-hit pass from Arsenal midfielder Elneny.
THAT WAS CLOSE! Elneny misses the target from outside the area after playing Salah's square directly towards goal!!
Veteran keeper Essam El-Hadary comes in for the injured El-Shennawi for Egypt's first substitution.
A couple of wayward crosses from Egypt in the space of just two minutes...
Following a spell of pressure from Mali, Egypt keeper El-Shennawi looks to be wasting time for an alleged injury to absorb the opponents' pressure.
WHAT A SAVE!! El-Shennawi denies a cross-cum-shot from Marega in what looked to be a dangerous chance.
El-Said seems to be Egypt's main source of creativity in midfield, feeding this time Trezeguet who has been flagged for offside.
Mali look to be deploying a somewhat similar strategy to Egypt, making life difficult for the Pharaohs' backline to get the ball forward.
Egypt attackers will be looking to capitalize on the spaces in Mali's midfield, as Abdallah was involved more than once during attacking moves
Marwan misses!! Abdallah feeds Marwan inside the area who turns and heads towards goal but the keeper denies him!
Egypt look determined early on to leave the Malian backline free on the ball.
The match gets underway!
Both teams are currently getting out of the tunnel as they line up now for the national anthems.
Egypt players are currently warming up nearly half an hour before kick off!
Ahly striker Marwan Mohsen will spearhead Egypt's attack, with club teammate Abdallah El-Said supporting him from behind.
As expected, Cuper retained his backline, with towering duo Ali Gabr and Ahmed Hegzy at the heart of the defense. Fathi and Abdul-Shafi on the flanks.
Keeper Essam El-Hadary has been left out of Egypt's starting lineup following speculation about whether he or in-form Zamalek keeper Ahmed El-Shennawi would start between the sticks.
AS Roma star Mohamed Salah would surely start for Egypt on the right flank, with the other two attacking midfield spots likely to be occupied by Abdullah El-Said and Mahmoud 'Trezeguet'.
In the full-back positions, Ahly Jeddah left-back Mohamed Abdul-Shafi is assured of a starting role, with veteran right-back Ahmed Fathi is likely to start as well.
Mali supporters are cheering their side a few hours ahead of their anticipated Cup of Nations clash with Egypt
In midfield, Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny is likely to partner Tarek Hamed in front of the defense as Cuper seems to favor the defensive duo.
The big question for Cuper is whether to start with veteran keeper El-Hadary or use in-form Zamalek keeper Ahmed El-Shennawi.
Some believe Egypt can treat the Nations Cup as an ideal preparation for their World Cup qualification after they made a perfect start by beating Congo and Ghana in their opening two matches.
Although Egypt are making their first Nations Cup appearance in seven years, many fans prioritize the World Cup over the African biennial tournament.
Cuper often deflected criticism over what some pundits believe his over-reliance on Salah, saying it’s only natural that he makes the most of his best players. His cautiousness bore fruit, with Egypt conceding only one goal in four qualifying matches.
With Egypt long suffering from a porous defence, Cuper set about tackling problems at the back, closing down spaces and relying on an efficient counter-attacking strategy, thanks to the astute passes of Ahly playmaker Abdallah El-Said and the marauding runs of AS Roma winger Mohamed Salah upfront.
Such near-misses are unlikely to have any bearing on an assured tactician whose defensive-minded tactics drew some criticism but proved effective in Egypt’s Nations Cup qualifying run, which saw them pip heavyweights Nigeria to top their group
As well as two Champions League final losses to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, Cuper also fell at the last hurdle while at Italy’s Inter Milan, missing out on the Serie A title on the last day of the season
"I can make many other excuses like heat and humidity but our only target is to win the eighth title ... we will fight for that. Fans expect a great success and I asked my players to challenge any difficulty and prove their worth to the whole world," he added.
“This is my first AFCON, as most of the [Egypt] players. Difficulty lies in lack of experience," Egypt coach Hector Cuper told a news conference in Gabon, having taken charge of an African side for the first time in a career that saw him reach the European Champions League twice with Valencia in 2000 and 2001
The once mighty Pharaohs, who are out to restore lost pride after reaching the Nations Cup for the first time since lifting the coveted trophy in Angola in 2010, face Mali in Group D, bearing in mind that an opening win will pave the way for a smooth qualification for the last eight.
Egypt’s wounds from repeated failures to reach a tournament they had won a record seven times are just about to heal but they still want to signal their intent to dominate Africa again as they begin their Nations Cup campaign on Tuesday
Stay tuned as match is due to start at 21:00 Cairo time (GMT+2)