The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations has come down to two teams. Algeria and Senegal will go head to head at the Cairo International Stadium on Friday evening to decide which nation can be crowned as the best in Africa, and it promises to be a fascinating encounter.
Of the two, Algeria have the stronger tournament record. They have one win, one second, two thirds and two fourths to their name, although all bar one of those performances came when they were at their strongest, between 1980 and 1990, a period that also saw them beat Germany in the 1982 World Cup. Senegal’s best effort was when finishing as runners-up in the 2002 tournament, though they also have three fourth-placed finishes in 1965, 1990 and 2006.
This game is also a rematch as these teams met in the second round of games in Group C. Algeria won that game 1-0, on their way to an impressive perfect record, while Senegal had to rely on beating Kenya 3-0 to secure their passage to the Round of 16.
Both teams have had to work hard to reach the final. Algeria thrashed Guinea 3-0 in their Round of 16 game but were taken to penalties by Ivory Coast and edged out Nigeria in the semi-final thanks to a spectacular last-minute free kick by Riyad Mahrez. Senegal also had to come through a penalty shoot-out, in their semi-final against Tunisia, after scraping 1-0 wins over Uganda and Ghana.
And both of these sides are blessed with prodigious attacking talent. Algeria have the abilities of Mahrez, Sofiane Feghouli and Baghdad Bounedjah to call upon, while Senegal have plenty of pace and skill up front with Liverpool star Sadio Mane, M’Baye Niang and Ismaila Sarr.
So, it’s no surprise to find that bookmakers rate the two teams closely. According to BetCris, Algeria are +192 to win in normal time, while Senegal are rated at +176 and the draw at +182.
One thing that could be Algeria’s favour is the absence of key Senegal player Kalidou Koulibaly. He received what was widely perceived as a harsh yellow card in the semi-final against Tunisia, and will miss the final, and his defensive strength, leadership and calm authority will be badly missed. It is also worth noting that Algeria have a good recent head to head record against these opponents. In fact, they have won four and drawn one of their last five meetings.
Tactically, we can expect both teams to focus on outscoring their opponents, as that is where their respective strengths lie, and that could produce an entertaining final to conclude what has sometimes been an overly cautious tournament. Algeria are likely to have more of possession, while Senegal will tend to favour a counter-attacking approach, relying on Mane and Sarr to give them the edge on the break, but both teams are capable of creating and scoring goals at will.
