Senegal or Egypt, who will lift Afcon title? - View from East Africa

Senegal and Egypt will face off in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations at Olembe Stadium in Yaounde on Sunday.

The Lions of Teranga will feature in their second straight final after losing 1-0 to Algeria in the last edition held in Egypt in 2019. Senegal, under former captain Aliou Cisse have made 16 appearances in the African competition but are yet to win the trophy.

Meanwhile, Egypt, who will miss the services of their suspended coach Carlos Queiroz, are the most successful nation in the cup’s history, winning the tournament seven times. They also won an unprecedented three consecutive titles in 2006, 2008, and 2010.

GOAL sought to know if the Lions of Teranga will end their wait to lift the title or whether the Pharaohs will stop them? Below is what journalists from East Africa had to say.

It will be a tight game, bringing together two teams that have been defensively solid. They have both conceded two goals from the group stage all the way to the final.

However, Senegal have been impressive especially from the last 16 round, after a rather slow start. Their midfield is quite strong as opposed to Egypt and their front line is also better. Having lost two finals, the Lions of Teranga will be highly determined to win.

I don't think Egypt stand a chance.

The Afcon final is an interesting one and very hard to predict because both Egypt and Senegal have the quality to carry the day, the game will be decided on very fine margins.

The teams have quality in all departments and really it will be the unlucky side that will lose the game so for me going by recent history I think Senegal have been unlucky twice and this should be the time lady luck smiles on them at the third time of asking.

Surely, they can’t be that unlucky?

It will be a tough encounter for both sides in the final. Of course, the two teams are powerhouses in the continent in matters of football. Egypt have bragging rights based on the number of titles they have won with Senegal still struggling to win the diadem.

Since their first outing, Egypt have been compact defensively and in midfield, to go through to the final. They are not really dependent on their star forward Mohamed Salah meaning; they are in good shape psychologically to play as a unit.

Going into the final, Senegal should ensure they score early to keep Egypt out of control but failure to do so; and it will be a tall order for them against the seven-time winners.

I vouch for Senegal. These teams are the best two on the continent and it’s befitting they will face off in the final of Africa’s biggest sports competition.

Senegal have been very consistent under the current coach in the past six years. They reached the last Nations Cup final in Egypt and qualified for the World Cup.

Egypt are good too, but it appears they will be missing coach Queiroz in the final through suspension. That could be the difference.

I would love Senegal to win it finally. I feel it is time the Lions of Teranga - with an endowed squad - win the title in order to join the elite nations that have done so.

Further, I would be happy for coach Aliou Cisse to lift it having lost in two finals; one as a player and another as a coach in 2019 in Egypt.

I don’t see Senegal winning this one, I am sorry to say this because Egypt have been the luckiest team at the 33rd edition in Cameroon so far.

They have been sneaking through despite their not-so-good performances in the group stage where they lost the opener 1-0 against Nigeria. Egypt are good in penalties and if Senegal will not win the game in regular time, then they should forget about the title.

This is a dream final, the one that we might have missed in the 2019 edition.

Egypt have the endurance, they’ve grown into the tournament just like Italy did in Euro 2020, Senegal on the other hand have a complete squad that is very capable of lifting their first-ever title.

I foresee another 120 minutes of action on Sunday.