President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's press conference with his Somali counterpart was the hot topic on last night's talk shows, but the pundits and hosts on the box last night also found the time to discuss our national football team’s upcoming match tonight with Cape Verde.

"Don’t test Egypt”: President El Sisi’s warning against Ethiopian intervention in the continent and their acquisition of a port in Somaliland captivated the attention of the nation’s talking heads last night. African affairs expert at the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies think tank Amani El Tawil called in to tell Amr Adib that the president’s statement was intended to help “rescue a country crying out for help" and give a strong message to Ethiopia to refrain from escalating tensions even further (watch, runtime: 3:34). El Sisi’s comments were also praised for confirming Egypt’s status as an important player in the region, former assistant foreign minister Mohamed Hegazy told Ala Masouleety and Al Hayah Al Youm over the phone (watch, runtime: 3:10 | 21:33 | 8:54).

Also on the airwaves last night:

  • Egypt’s upcoming Afcon match against Cape Verde tonight got a lot of air time last night, with the pundits focusing on Mohamed Salah’s surprise departure for the UK to recover from his injuries. (Ala Masouleety | watch, runtime: 14:41) (Kelma Akhira | watch, runtime: 6:52) (El Hekayah | watch, runtime: 9:51)
  • Ongoing talks with the IMF may lead to an unforeseen breakthrough, and “what matters is when the USD [value] decreases, prices decrease and commodities become available,” Amr Abid told viewers. “The achievement [now] is for prices not to increase beyond this [level.]," Adib explained. (El Hekayah | watch, runtime: 16:08)
Tags: