Overview
As Algeria end their 29-year wait to win the AFCON 2019, few people expected that the victory over Senegal in the final would be their last victory in this tournament so far.
The turning point goal of Baghdad Bounedjah in Cairo 6 years ago ended that glorious journey. Since then, the two-time African champions have not won any more matches at the AFCON, when they were helpless against Sierra Leone, Guinea Xiao and Ivory Coast in the 2021 tournament, as well as Algeria, Burkina Faso and Mauritania in the following finals. In total, Fennecs have only won 3 points out of a maximum 18.
Being eliminated from the group stage twice in a row is an unwanted milestone in the history of Algeria football. Therefore, their immediate goal at AFCON this time is to avoid extending their days off the knockout round, starting with the opening match against Sudan.
Entering the 21st AFCON, Algeria has a positive side as they are unbeaten in qualifying (W5 D1), scoring 16 goals - equal to South Africa, only behind Morocco (26 goals). This efficiency is not random, because in the World Cup qualifiers, Fennecs scored 24 goals, only behind Co Ha (25). During that time, Mohamed El Amine Amoura was the most effective striker among the remaining African players.
With a stable performance throughout the qualifying campaigns, the fact that coach Vladimir Petkovic's team continues to stop early will be a big shock.
On the opposite side, Sudan - AFCON champion in 1970 - returned to the tournament in a particularly difficult situation due to the war in their home country. The national team is forced to play home qualifying matches outside of Sudan, highlighting the challenges they have to overcome to feature in Morocco.
Under the leadership of Ghana coach James Kwesi Appiah, the "Gosts" created a surprise when they avoided defeat against Ghana twice. They drew 0-0 at Accra before winning 2-0 in the return match in Libya.
With 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses, Sudan beat Niger to advance by a single point, while Ghana was eliminated without a win (3 draws, 3 losses).
Returning to AFCON after the defeat in the Ivory Coast, Appiah and his team are determined to avoid repeating the AFCON 2021 scenario, where they did not win any matches. They lost to Nigeria and Egypt in a group of 10 consecutive African championships.
Since the shocking 2-1 victory over Burkina Faso at the 2012 AFCON, Sudan has not won any more at this tournament. They entered the opening match without a back-to-back win in 4 matches, but their determination to create a surprise against Algeria is still something that cannot be underestimated.
Personnel situation
At the age of 34, Riyad Mahrez continues to lead Algeria, alongside his veteran teammate and also the 2019 AFCON champion, Baghdad Bounedjah (34 years old), in an effort to end Fennecs' 6-match winless streak at AFCON.
Although Mahrez and Bounedjah have scored 33 and 35 goals for the national team, Mohamed El Amine Amoura's strong rise has helped the veteran duo no longer have to shoulder the entire responsibility of scoring for the two-time African champions.
On the other hand, the Sudan squad is mainly made up of domestic players, but there are still some names playing for clubs outside of Sudan. Typical examples include captain Bakhit Khamis, Munjed Alnil, Muhamed Kesra, Sheddy Barglan, Abuaagla Abdalla, Ammar Taifour, Mohamed Eisa,abo Eisa, Al-Jezoli, John Mano and Aamir Abdallah.
Expected lineup:
Algeria: Zidane, Belghali, Mandi, Belaid, Ait-Nouri, Bennacer, Zerrouki, Mahrez, Moussa, Aouar, Bounedjah.
Sudan:abooja, aw awad, Ering, Karshoum, Tabanja, Mozamil, Taifour, Kh dir, Raouf, Mano, Abdelrahman.
The match between Algeria and Sudan takes place at 22:00 on December 24 (Vietnam time).
