The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations final between Senegal and Algeria, as well as the 3rd place-off between Tunisia and Nigeria will be aired live on DStv and GOtv.
The 3rd place game kicks off at 8pm on Wednesday, July 17, while the final comes up at 8pm on Friday,
July 19. Both games will be broadcast live on SuperSport 7 and 10 to DStv subscribers and on SuperSport
Select 2 and 4 to GOtv Max and Plus subscribers.
Friday’s final between The Teranga Lions of Senegal and the Desert Foxes (Les Fennecs) of Algeria will be
a repeat of the epic Group C encounter earlier in the tournament, which ended in favour of the latter via
a second-half strike from striker Youcef Belaili.
Senegal finished second to Algeria in the group, on the back they win over Tanzania and Kenya. They
progressed in the first knockout stages with slim 1 – 0 victories against Uganda and Republic of Benin, in
the round of 16 and the quarter-final respectively. The Teranga Lions repeated their slim-margin victory
in the semi-final against Tunisia after extra time.
Algeria, on the other hand, burned through the group stage earning all nine points without conceding a
goal. They trounced Guinea 3 – 0 in the Round of 16 but had to rely on penalties to see off Cote d’ Ivoire
4 – 3 after their quarter-final clash ended one goal apiece after extra time. They secured their place in
the final after defeating Nigeria 2 – 1 in the semi-final.
Both teams have met 22 times, with Algeria winning 13 times and against Senegal’s four. Coincidentally,
both teams are being managed by their former captains. Aliou Cisse, who captained the historic
Senegalese team at the 2002 AFCON and World Cup, is at the helm of affairs for his country, while
Djamel Belmadi, Algeria’s captain at the 2004 AFCON, manages the North African team.
Cisse will hope that his star strikers, Sadio Mane and M’Baye Niang, are in the right frame of mind to
pick the pockets of Algeria. Mane has been a menace to defences since the tournament began and will
aim to add his three goals to clinch the golden boot, in addition to winning the tournament. All-action
midfielder, Idrissa Gana Gueye, will be required to provide stability in the centre while skipper Cheikhou
Kouyate remains the defensive lynchpin. Senegal will however, be without a influential centre-back,
Kalidou Koulibaly, who is suspended after picking up two yellow cards in the knockout phase.
Belmadi, the Algerian coach, will be counting on skipper Riyad Mahrez’s dribbling and savage shooting
to cause problems for their opponents. Mahrez’s menace famously found expression in the high-velocity free-kick that saw off the spirited Super Eagles of Nigeria in the semi-final. The winger, who also has three goals, has able accomplices in Belaili and Baghdad Bounedjah. Sofiane Feghouli is expected to provide the creative spark in midfield, while Aiisa Mandi and Djamel Benlamri will be asked to ensure
the defense is impenetrable.
For the 3 rd place play-off, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will aim to pick up their seventh AFCON bronze
after their cruel loss to Algeria. But they face a stiff opposition in the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia, who are still smarting from their extra-time loss to Senegal.
Both teams have met 17 times, with Tunisia winning six and Nigeria five. The last meeting between both teams saw the Super Eagles run away with victory 6 – 5 on penalties after the game ended 1 – 1 with extra time at the 2006 AFCON.
