The third day of the African Cup of Nations marks the entry into the running of Algeria, the title holder and the big favorite to his succession. Djamel Belmadi’s men face Sierra Leone. While a sumptuous Nigeria Egypt will also be observed. Not to mention the Sudan – Guinea-Bissau match.
We summarize everything for you in this second issue of the CAN newspaper, our daily meeting until the final on February 6.
What happened on Monday
Group B. Senegal in suffering. Senegal avoided the worst by winning at the very end of the match on the smallest of the margins against Zimbabwe (1-0). An opponent who, on paper, was much inferior to him. Led by their captain, the Parisian Idrissa Gana Gueye, the Senegalese offered a very poor technical performance with only four small shots on target. But the men of coach Aliou Cissé were able to be patient by obtaining a penalty after additional time. Sadio Mané, the star of the team, did not tremble to give the victory to his selection (1-0, 90 + 6 ′).
Group B. Guinea without trembling. The Guinea of Kaba Diawara left with the favors of the prognosis against the weak Malawi. The players of the former Parisian striker have held their rank thanks to a realization of Sylla in the 35th minute.
Groupe C. Boufal launches Morocco. Hakimi’s Morocco also defeated its first opponent, Ghana by winning (1-0) on the lawn of Yaoundé. Angevin Sofiane Boutal scored the only goal of the game in the 82nd minute. The Moroccan striker took over as a pivot a ball that was trailing in the area following a series of scrambles. The Ghanaian goalkeeper could not do anything with his strike. This is only… Boufal’s second goal in the Moroccan selection. On paper, the poster was attractive but it resulted in a relatively poor game in scoring chances. The Ghana of brothers André and Jordan Ayew did not deserve to win.
Group C. Gabon without convincing. A single goal was used by the Gabonese to beat the little Thumb and Comorian neophyte. Served by Ameka in the depth on the left side of the surface, the former Bordeaux Boupendza beat the former Toulouse Ahamada with a strike in the top corner (1-0, 16th). But if they do not raise their level in the next game against Ghana, Aubameyang’s teammates risk suffering.
The program for this Tuesday
Group E, Algeria – Sierra Leone (14 hours on BEinSport). Defending the title and unbeaten for 34 games in all competitions, Algeria is the tournament’s favorite. The Fennecs start today against Sierra Leone. If they do not lose during their group stage (Equatorial Guinea then Côte d’Ivoire on the program), the Fennecs will equal Italy’s record which they could then beat during the competition. “We are the favorites, but we are never safe from a surprise,” admits striker Sofiane Feghouli. Once on the ground, you have to give your best. We don’t hide it, we want to keep the title. This is the very high level, it is to last for years. Today we are the team to beat and we will try to continue that way. The pressure is always present, between us we try not to relax, we are lucky to have an exceptional coach in the national team, who has the words, who knows how to play the competition and who gives his chance to everybody. We have a group that wants to move forward and that does not relax. The proof, this series of matches without defeat. It not only proves the work, the talent but also the dedication of this team ”
Group D, Nigeria – Egypt (5 p.m. on BEinSport). This is the first big poster of the event between two of the outsiders for the title. The Super Eagles have often shone on the African scene with three successes in 1980, 1994 and 2013. Shortly before the debut, Gernot Rohr was fired from his post and replaced by Augustine Eguavoen. The latter deplores some important absences since Osimhen, Balogun or Dennis, are either injured or blocked for administrative problems. Egypt has seven CAN to its name, including the last three consecutively from 2006 to 2010 (not counting the 2017 final in Gabon against Cameroon). The Pharaohs had a quiet qualifying campaign to participate in the 2022 World Cup. First in its group like Nigeria, Egypt will also play the last round of the qualifiers to be part of the 5 African nations qualified for Qatar. Recently, Egypt lost in the semi-final of the Arab Cup against Tunisia, with a reshaped team.
Group D, Sudan – Guinea-Bissau (20 hours on BEinSport). The Djurtus are participating for the third time in a row in the final phase. Led by their experienced coach, Baciro Candé, the French team hope to create the sensation of climbing for the first time in the second round of the competition. They have a few arguments to make, including that of having carried out a qualifying campaign of high quality by finishing first in his group. The Sudanese, who have just dismissed their French coach Hubert Velud, have lower ambitions. They who had not played in the final phase for ten years.
Player to watch: Mohamed Salah
He’s probably the best player in the competition, even though he’s never won it. Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian winger walks the water with Liverpool, with 23 goals in 26 games in all competitions this season. His coach Carlos Queiroz considers him to be the “Best player in the world”. But, the jersey of the Pharaohs succeeds less than that of the Reds. Despite high quality individual performances (43 goals in 73 caps), he never led Egypt, too irregular, to final victory. Finalist in 2017, his selection remains on a traumatic elimination at home from the eighth of the last CAN. Placed in the group of Nigeria, Egypt could find Algeria or Côte d’Ivoire from the eighth if it finishes second. But Salah warned everyone at a press conference “I came here to win the CAN”. And mark a little more its mark in the history of Egyptian football.