Pharaohs' defence to come unstuck in AFCON final
Senegal and Egypt will contest the final of this year's Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday evening at the Paul Biya Stadium in Olembé, Cameroon. The Lions of Teranga have never won the tournament, and to do so for the first time, they must break down the defence of the most successful country in the continent's history. Read our preview here:
All about the Mané
Aliou Cissé captained the west coast nation 20 years ago at the 2002 World Cup when they shocked the holders France en route to the quarter finals of their first major tournament outside their own continent. Now in the dugout, he'll have Sadio Mané at his disposal and a whole slew of the most talented players since his own generation, with only full-back being an area of concern. The onus will be on them to attack, however, and Idrissa Gueye's late runs into the box in support of Famara Diédhiou will need to be perfectly timed to disrupt the colossi in the opposition ranks.
Salah's dynasty
With a day less than Senegal to prepare, and the emotions wrapped up in edging out hosts Cameroon on penalties after extra-time, discipline will be the bedrock for their bid to win the trophy for an unprecedented eighth occasion. Mo Salah has been instrumental with and without the ball, but the real focus has been on the central defensive partnership of Al-Ahly's Mohamed Abdelmonem and Zamalek's Mahmoud Hamdy.
Betting tip
Egypt have only conceded once in the knockout phase, a sequence which has taken in Ivory Coast, Morocco, and Cameroon. Senegal are more threatening in attack than any of those three, and have designs on repeating their wild success of a generation ago in Qatar later this year. bet365 have odds of 2.10 for them to finally break down the Pharaohs' stubborn resolve inside 90 minutes, and pick up their first ever AFCON final trophy.
