19th July, 2019
Senegal on Friday will battle Algeria for the trophy of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations at the Cairo International Stadium, Egypt.
Senegal has never won the trophy.
The tournament has thrown up surprises such as Madagascar and Benin having good showing at quarter finals while big names such as Egypt, Morocco and defending champions Cameroon had falling by the way side.
Algeria’ performance has been superlative with their wins against Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.
With four wins from their last five over Senegal, including the 1-0 win in the group stages, Algeria may feel the more confident of the two going into the final.
In Group C back on June 27, the Lions of Teranga were narrowly edged out as Algeria’s Youcef Belaili scored the only goal of the game just after half-time.
In terms of their head-to-head record, Senegal and Algeria have faced each other 22 times and it is the latter who have the superior record winning 13 and only losing four. Also, Senegal have never beaten Algeria at an AFCON in eight attempts.
Both sides have had impressive tournaments and have genuine world-class, match-winning talents in Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez.
Both players are still vying for the Golden Boot with three goals each so far, while the possibility of renewing their English Premier League rivalry should not be ruled out.
However, Senegal appear to be weaker with players like Mbaye Diagne, M’baye Niang and Keita Balde Diao struggling to replicate their club form and failing to ease the burden on Mane.
Algeria are leading the overall scoring charts of the tournament with some of its players recording multiple goals.