The 2021 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) currently underway in Cameroon enters day 3 with three of the favorite teams tipped to win the 33rd edition of the continental showpiece in action.
Today, January 11, 2022, Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Egypt’s Pharaohs will kick off their campaign with a top gun encounter at the Roumde Adjia stadium, Garoua.
This will be the ninth encounter between Nigeria and Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations. The Nigeria-Egypt encounter is one match less the three fixtures that have been played more often in the history of the tournament (Cameroon-Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire-Egypt and Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana – all 10 times).
Nigeria hold the upper hand with three wins to Egypt’s two, although their last encounter in 2010 went in favor of the Pharaohs who beat the Super Eagles 3-1 in the group phase.
Nigeria is making its 19th appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations and has reached the semi-finals in 14 of its last 16 AFCON participations, winning the tournament on three occasions.
On the contrary, this is Egypt’s 25th appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations, a record in the history of the tournament. The Pharaohs have won the AFCON seven times, more than any other side. However, Egypt has won none of the last five AFCON tournaments after winning each of the previous three (2006, 2008, 2010).
Egypt is unbeaten in each of its last 16 group matches at the Africa Cup of Nations (W12, D4). The last defeat in the group phase dates back to the 2004 tournament, a 2-1 defeat to North African archrivals, Algeria.
Since his debut in the competition in 2017, Mohamed Salah has been directly involved in 60% of Egypt’s goals in the Africa Cup of Nations (4 goals + 2 assists, out of a team total of 10 goals). The Liverpool top-star is arguably one of the best strikers in the world currently and the Super Eagles defense will definitely have a great job to do this afternoon.
The other Group D encounter will see Sudan take on Guinea Bissau in an expected balanced game in Garoua, the first encounter between them at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Algeria v Sierra Leone
Apart from Nigeria and Egypt- two previous AFCON Winners and current tournament favorites – defending champions, Algeria, will be in action in the early kick-off today against a less fancied opponent, the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone, who are marking a return to Africa’s flagship competition after 26 years of absence. The Group E opener will kick off at the Japoma Stadium in Douala at 13:00 GMT.
Algeria and Sierra Leone’s only previous encounter at the Africa Cup of Nations was in the group phase of the 1996 tournament in which Algeria won 2-0.
This will be Algeria’s 19th participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, winning it twice previously (1990, 2019). The Fennec Foxes will be aiming to win back-to-back AFCON tournaments for the first time since Egypt’s three in a row from 2006 to 2010.
This is because Algeria is unbeaten in its last eight games at the Africa Cup of Nations (W6, D2), equaling their longest run without a defeat in the history of the tournament. In 2019, Algeria conceded only two goals in seven games on its way to victory, and never fell behind at any point of a match.
Algeria scored 19 goals in six games during qualifying for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the highest tally among the 24 teams at this year’s tournament. Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani are two of four players to have scored in each of the last three AFCON tournaments, alongside Ghana’s Ayew brothers, André and Jordan.
In sharp contrast, Sierra Leone won only one of six qualifying games, fewer than any of the qualified teams. The Leone Stars are taking part in their third Africa Cup of Nations, and their first since 1996. They have won only one of their five games at the tournament (D1, L3), a 2-1 victory against Burkina Faso in 1996.
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