Tuesday January 11 (Fixtures)
• Algeria vs Sierra Leone – 4pm
• Nigeria vs Egypt – 7:00 pm
• Sudan vs Guinea Bissau – 10:00 pm
The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations reigning champions Algeria kicks off the title defence Sierra Leone at Japoma stadium in Douala on Tuesday.
Both sides were in the same group when Sierra Leone last appeared in AFCON in South Africa 1996. Les Fennecs of Algeria won 2-0 at that time.
The defending Champions guided by the 2019 winning coach Djamel Belmadi, are unbeaten in 34 international games, a record they look to extend while dreaming of a third AFCON title, a second in a row.
Buoyed by their recent FIFA Arab Cup triumph last month in Qatar, Algeria have the ambition to maintain their invincibility and to warn their next opponents not only in Group E and also for the race for the title.
On the other hand, Sierra Leone are having their 3rd AFCON appearance after 26 years of absence, and want to start on a bright note, despite the fact that they face none but the continent’s likely biggest force at the moment.
Coach John Keister’s side was the last to qualify for the finals, but with a remarkable 4-4 draw in Nigeria on the road, when the Leone Stars came from 4-0 down to snatch a priceless point.
Sierra Leone are taking part in their third Africa Cup of Nations, and their first since 1996.
In other encounters, Nigeria will be facing Egypt for the ninth time in the Africa Cup of Nations. The Pharaohs have only won twice while Nigeria has registered three wins and shared spoils four times.
Nigeria will be making their 19th appearance while Egypt report for the 25th time making it the highest a country has been at the biggest stage in the continent.
While the last game of the day will be between Sudan and Guinea Bissau.
Sudan will be returning to the tourney since 2012 while Guinea Bissau will be making their third appearance since debuting in 2017.
Guinea Bissau will be looking to start on a high having finished bottom of the group in the recent shows. Sudan will be yearning to echo their 1970 performance when then won the tournament.
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