Pre-tournament favourites Senegal will come face to face against Tanzania on Sunday in their Group C tie at the 30th of June Stadium, Cairo.
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Senegal face Tanzania, Algeria take on Kenya in AFCON group games
Senegal vs Tanzania (Kick-off: 5:00pm)
Senegal
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Senegal have been disappointing in recent AFCONs, having failed to glitter since they finished runners-up in 2002, despite always entering into the tournament with some of the finest players on the African continent.
In the last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Senegal who were the only country to qualify for the finals with a 100% record were knocked out from the competition by Cameroon in the quarters.
Team News and match facts
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Senegal
Senegal should guard against complacency. The Teranga Lions are the highest ranked team in Africa on the FIFA ranking and they have the most talented crop of players on the continent at the moment.
Sadio Mane is the most inform African player with his exploits with Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League.
However, he is missing the clash against Tanzania due to suspension. This is a breather for the East Africans since the attacking potency of the West Africans will be minimised.
Senegal in defence will rely heavily on Kalidou Koulibaly who is rated as the finest African defender. The Napoli centre back is on the radar of several European football powerhouses including Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, etc.
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Senegal have lost just two out of their last twenty outings, won twelve and kept twelve clean sheets in the process. The nation is currently on a six-game winning streak, and they conceded only one goal during that run.
This is the 15th time Senegal will be participating in the Africa Cup of Nations, making them the most appeared side without having previously won the continent’s showpiece.
During the qualifiers, they topped their group to prove their mettle.
Coach for the Teranga Lions is Aliou Cissé, a former skipper of the team. He was also the captain of the Senegal team that reached the final of the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations. The former defender has been the coach of Senegal since 2015 and he is one of the indigenes in the continental showpiece.
If his long spell with the team is anything to go by, he should have a full grip on the side and replicate the team spirit that inspired them to qualify for the 2019 AFCON in a grand style.
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Senegal edged Nigeria 1-0 in their only AFCON 2019 warm-up game IN Ismailia on 16th June.
Tanzania
Tanzania
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The Taifa Stars of Tanzania don’t have plenty of world-class talents.
Tanzania captain Mbwana Samatta will be the man to watch in Egypt. The 26-year old striker won the league with Belgian side Genk, scoring 23 goals in 38 appearances. Samatta is the first ever Tanzanian to play European football, and his big game experience will be vital if the Tafia Stars are to reach the knock out stages for the first time in their history.
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The coach of the Tanzanian team is Emmanuel Amunike, who won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994 with Nigeria, so his experience in continental football would come to bear in leading the Taifa Stars successfully in this AFCON.
Tanzania have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for the AFCON just two times.
Head to head
They have played twice in all competitions. Senegal hit four goals past Tanzania without any reply and Tanzania and the reverse fixture ended one all.
The Taifa Stars have never played the Teranga Lions in any Africa Cup of Nations Cup game.
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Algeria vs Kenya (Kick-off: 8:00pm)
Algeria will take on Kenya on Sunday in their opening Group C encounter on Sunday at the 30 June Stadium, Cairo.
Team news and match facts
Algeria
Algeria-national-football-team
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Bagdad Boundjah is arguably the most prolific striker in the world game. The Al Sadd striker scored an incredible 39 goals in 22 league games in the QSL.
He will be the go-to man in the Desert Foxes’ quest to replicate their 1990 heroics if he will be able to translate his phenomenal club form to the national team.
Also, the Algeria attack with Riyad Mahrez, Sofiane Feghouli and Yacine Brahimi are well capable of causing problems for any defence at the tournament.
Algeria made it through to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations by winning qualifying Group D ahead of Benin, Gambia and Togo, and they come into the tournament unbeaten in their last six matches (includes friendly matches).
Kenya
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Kenya national team
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Kenya finished second in their group in the qualifiers, giving the Black Stars a stiff opposition in the run for the top spot. Ghana needed to win the home clash against the East Africans to finish at the summit of their group.
Victor Wanyama, a Tottenham midfielder was instrumental in Kenya’s qualifying campaign and they will depend on him in their quest to qualify from the group stage of the AFCON.
Kenya are back at the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the first time since 2004; this is their sixth appearance at the final tournament and they have yet to progress further than the group stage.
Kenya have a good defensive record in recent times with only two goals conceded in their last seven matches and they will look to keep things tight here.
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Head to head
They have played seven games in all competitions. The Harambee Stars have won three, so as the Desert Foxes, with one game having ended in a draw.
Algeria and Kenya have never faced each other in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Morocco vs Namibia (Kick-off-2:30pm)
The Atlas Lions of Morocco will engage Namibia in their opening Group D clash at 30,000 capacity AlSalam Sports Stadium, Cairo on Sunday.
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Team news and match facts
Morocco
moroccan-team
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The Atlas Lions have a coach with rich AFCON experience in their locker room in the person of Herve Renard. The Frenchman will key as Morocco look forward to ending their AFCON drought since 1976. Renard is the only coach to have won the continental showpiece with two different nations: 2012 with Zambia and 2015 with Ivory Coast.
Morocco are one of the teams with much quality as they participate in the competition. In defence, the North Africans have Ashraf the Real Madrid left-back who expelled last season on loan to Borussia Dortmund and the skipper of the side Mehdi Benatia, who will use his experience to organise the defence of the side.
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In attack is Hakim Ziyech, one of the much talked about payers on the African continent. He was in the thick of events as Ajax processed to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League knocking out former champions Real Madrid and Juventus in the process and he was also effective as the four times champions of Europe won the Dutch League.
Namibia
Namibia
Pulse Ghana
The Brave Warriors were not impressive during the qualifiers. They won only two of their six games and finished runners-up to Guinea Bissau.
However, their morale is high heading into the tournament after a good pre-AFCON preparation. They won three of their four warm-up games for the tournament, including a 1-0 victory against Ghana.
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This is their first appearance at the finals since 2008 and only the third time at the finals in their history, while they have yet to win a group match in six attempts.
Their expectations are very low and having being placed in such a tough group, any points they pick up will be a big positive for the minnows.
Head to head
Morocco and Namibia have previously faced off on five different times. The Atlas Lions are undefeated, having won four and drawn one.
The Brave Warriors were handed a 5-1 defeat by the 1988 champions of Africa in their only meeting in the Africa Cup of Nations: 2008 when Ghana hosted the rest of Africa.
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