Africa Cup of Nations final a toss-up

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/02/2022 (1632 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Based on what we’ve seen so far at this Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal should lift the trophy on Sunday in Yaounde. Having said that, based on what we’ve seen so far at this Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt should lift the trophy on Sunday in Yaounde.

Uhm, what?

Yes, exactly.

As longtime followers of this tournament will know, predicting any match, nevermind the championship final, is only slightly more productive than a fool’s errand. Which basically means it’s utterly pointless. Especially when the narratives, constructed by results, are as competitive and captivating, albeit wildly divergent, as these.

At first blush, Senegal’s is more convincing.

Finalists in 2019 (in Cairo, incidentally), they were always going to target a completion of the job, and an elusive first title, in Cameroon this winter. Theirs, after all, is something of a golden generation, what with the likes of Sadio Mane, Idrissa Gueye, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy featuring in generally capable squad, and managed by national icon Aliou Cisse, no less.

As a player, Cisse captained the Senegal team that lost the 2002 final to Cameroon on penalties but went on the beat France and advance to the quarter-finals of that year’s World Cup. A few months later, he lost several family members when a ferry capsized off the coast of The Gambia.

He’s the sort of figure you want to root for, who you want to see triumph, and he encapsulates the mission his side seem to be on.

After laying low during the group stage, the Lions of Teranga have roared through the knockouts—beating Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso by a combined 8-2. Mane seems to have finally found some form, and he and left-back Salidou Ciss are an imposing pair down that flank.

So imposing, it seems, that Mane’s Liverpool teammate, Mohamed Salah, will likely move inside and operate more from the centre on Sunday.

Salah, it goes without saying, is this Cup of Nations’ marquee player.

Of the three goals Egypt have scored in normal time, two have come off his boot — a delicate volley against Guinea-Bissau that got The Pharaohs up and running after a loss to Nigeria, and a tap-in to equalize against Morocco in the quarter-finals. He also assisted Trezeguet’s extra-time winner with a dribble, shimmy and cross to seal a spot in the last four.

Chances are he has something to do with whatever Egypt create in the final third, which, these days, isn’t a lot.

He pretty much carried his country into the last World Cup, and you have to wonder how he’d have done as part of those famous teams of the early 2000s — starring the likes of Amr Zaki, Hosny Abd Rabo and the legendary Mohamed Aboutrika — that won three African championships on the bounce.

None of this is to say that Egypt, in their 2022 incarnation, are a one-man team — especially with Mohamed Abdel Monem having a break-out tournament and veteran Amr El Soleya playing the football of his life in the centre of the park.

But they’re not going to win without their captain. And if they need a mission of their own, they could go out and try to win this Cup of Nations for him.

Not that Salah needs it to be loved back home.

He continues to personally fund a variety of infrastructure projects in his hometown, and early on in his career he revealed the warmth of his character when, after learning his family home had been robbed, he refused to press charges and instead provided the thief with financial aid.

On Sunday, however, he’ll need to be ice cold. This Egypt side may not be fun to watch, but they’ll do anything to win — which is rather in keeping with tradition. No nation has won the Cup of Nations more, and it should never be a surprise when they reach this stage of the competition.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Paul Samyn | Editor's Note

Wednesdays

A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom.

Sign up for Paul Samyn | Editor's Note

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

So, take your pick.

Based on the last few weeks, both Senegal and Egypt can make a case for being tipped to win Sunday’s final. Both can point to recent results — one through convincing scorelines and the other by simply refusing to lose. Both have powerful storylines that invite support.

And based on the last few weeks, we have no idea what’s going to happen.

jerradpeters@gmail.com

Twitter @JerradPeters