AFCON 2021 Final: The Die Is Cast As Senegal Battle Egypt

• Liverpool Stars, Salah and Mane seek first continental gold medal

BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI – Tonight’s decider for the African Cup of Nations final at Olembe Stadium presents a potential thriller as Liverpool stars Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah go head-to-head with Senegal and Egypt colliding in search for who wears the crown for the next two years.

There will be on love lost for the marauding Liverpool attackers who will be calling the shots on opposite sides as they battle for continental honours for the first time in their illustrious career.

And the enormous task of delivering a perfect final has been entrusted into the hands of South African referee, Victor Gomez who will control proceedings from the centre, ably assisted by compatriot Zakhele Siwela and Souru Phatsoane from Lesotho, while Jean-Jacques Ndala from the Democratic Republic of Congo will be the fourth official.

The match will be the second-straight AFCON final for the Teranga Lions of Senegal who lost the 2019 edition in Egypt 0-1 to Desert Warriors of Algeria.

At this year’s competition, the Senegalese started on an uninspiring note but gained momentum as the hostilities progressed. With a stoppage-time penalty helping them edge past Zimbabwe 1-0 in their first group game, Coach Aliou Cisse’s men went on to record goalless draws against Guinea and Malawi.

Having managed just one goal in the group stage, they still found passage into the Round of 16 where they beat Cape Verde 2-0, before dismissing Equatorial Guinea 3-1 in the quarter-finals. Then, an emphatic 3-1 victory over Burkina Faso gave them passage into their second consecutive final.

On their part, the Pharaohs of Egypt did not fare any better losing 1-0 to then-title favourites Nigeria before going on to win 1-0 over both Guinea-Bissau and Sudan in the other group fixtures.

Interestingly, all their knockout matches have gone beyond 90 minutes, first beating Ivory Coast via a penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw in the Roud of 16; followed by a 2-1 extra-time victory over Morocco, another tournament favourite, before a 0-0 draw against hosts Cameroon led to a penalty shootout victory as well.

Their star player Salah goes into this match with two goals to his name in this competition, while Mane has three goals and the last time both countries met was in November 2014 with the Teranga Lions winning 1-0 in a 2015 AFCON qualifier.

After today’s final, both nations will meet again later this year over two legs bidding to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup slated for Qatar.

Sadly, for their much-revered football exploits, the Teranga Lions are yet to win the AFCON title, and after being runners-up in 2002 and 2019, going against the Pharaohs, who are gunning for a record-extending eighth Afcon crown, is certainly an uphill task.

That makes this clash between a Senegal side, composed of European-based stars and an Egypt squad, predominantly comprising local league footballers, an enticing affair.

For Coach Aliou Cisse of Senegal, there are no injury worries and no COVID-19 cases have been recorded in their camp ahead of the match. That gives him something positive confronting this important fixture.

On the other hand, the Egyptian camp is not in a state they might have wanted going into such a crucial match with Coach Carlos Queiroz banned from the bench after his sending off in the semi-final tie against Burkina Faso.

To make matters worse, assistant coach, Roger De Sa will also not be available as he is serving a four-match ban which started in the match against the Stallions. The Pharaohs will miss the services of defender injured Ahmed Hegazy, and Zamalek centre-back Mahmoud El Wensh is set to partner Mohamed Abdelmonem in central defence.

Also, right-back Omar Kamal is definitely out due to the accumulation of yellow cards and Emam Ashour is likely to step in for him. Another right-back Akram Tawfik remains out injured.

Then there is the business with Egypt’s goalkeepers, where Zamalek’s Gabaski is almost sure to start in place of the injured Mohamed El Shenawy. Gabaski was the hero of the last match against Cameroon as he saved two penalties to send the Pharaohs to the final. – With Goal.com reports