Afcon 2022 is Finally Here
The 2021 AFCON will take place in 2022. The tournament was initially scheduled to be hosted by Ivory Coast but will now be hosted by Cameroon. Ivory Coast will now host 2023 AFCON tournament. It has seen more controversy than ever. However with these controversies now being put aside, the festival of football in Africa which sees the best footballers in the continent don the jerseys of their various countries is finally here. As with all competitions, there are favorites.
These are some of the favorites to lift the trophy this time around.
Algeria
The north Africans have been unbeaten for a really long time now. In fact their most recent loss came all the way back in 2019; the year the last AFCON was played. It was to Morocco in the African Nations Championship which only involves players plying their trade in their country's domestic league. As majority of Algeria’s players ply their trade in Europe, we can easily exclude that. Their last true loss dates back to October 2018, a run of 35+ games. In that period, they claimed the 2021 ARAB cup. Having won the tournament twice, they will be relying on talismen Riyad mahrez and Said Benrahma, the latter who has been on top form this season for English club Westham United. Veteran, Yacine Brahimi, winner of the golden ball at the just concluded Arab cup is also a key player to look out for. They have been drawn alongside Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea in group E. The Desert foxes will hope to become only the fourth ever African side to win the tournament back to back.
2. Senegal: 2019 runners-up, Senegal were unbeaten in their group in both AFCON qualifiers and World cup qualifiers. Among the favorites, they seem to have the easiest group on paper. Star men Sadio Mane and Eduard Mendy who are both one of the best footballers in the world. Mendy in particular has been on top form since his move to Chelsea about 18 months ago. Captain Sadio Mane had a rather disappointing campaign last season seems to have found his form back. The Senegalese football federation will hope to settle their discord with Watford for the release of starman Ismaila Sarr before the competition commences on January 9. The Hornets claim he is not currently fit to play having suffered a knee ligament injury in late November. Nevertheless, Senegal who are the only African country in the FIFA top 20 will always be a threat.
3. Nigeria: 3 time African cup of Nations winner will go into this tournament without 2 of Africa’s most in form strikers Emmanuel Dennis of Watford and Victor Oshimen of Napoli. The west African giants who in 1994 were ranked 5th in the world (highest ever ranking achieved by an African side) will go into this tournament relying on Leicester City duo Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi. The super Eagles have been drawn in group D alongside 7 times African Champions Egypt whom they face on January 11. Having parted ways with Head coach Gernot Rohr, the African giants will hope Interim Boss Augustine Eguavoen can make the most of the talented squad he has at his disposal.
4. Egypt: The north Africans have won the tournament 7 times and will hope to bounce back after a disappointing outing on home soil last time out which saw them knocked out in the round of 16 by South Africa. Egyptian King and captain Mohammed Salah who has been firing on all cylinders since the season started will. Having been lauded as the best player in the world by many pundits, the superstar will hope to lead them to glory. The Pharaohs of Egypt also boast of Arsenal midfielder Elneny.
5. Morocco: Experienced head coach Vahid Halihodzic recently made the bold decision to exclude star playmaker Hakim Ziyech from the AFCON 2022. Will Morocco regret his absence is what football fans want to see. They have been a joy to watch in recent times however. Prior to their recent Arab Cup loss to Algeria, the Atlas Lions had won 12 matches on the bounce, a very impressive record conceding only once in that run.
The AFCON 2022 is scheduled to be the 33rd edition. It will start on the 9th of January with the final taking place on February 6.
