Africa Cup preview: Senegal becomes the favorite to win the championship, Egypt will play the strongest team

1/10/2022 6:18:01 AM

1. Senegal (Odds to win: 5)

Under the leadership of Cisse, Senegal, which has maintained the No. 1 position in Africa for 36 consecutive months, has enough strength to hit the African Cup, especially after finishing runner-up three years ago, the team is very eager for the championship. In terms of lineup, Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy has ensured the thickness of the team's last line of defense. Captain Koulibaly leads the entire line of defense and is the team's anchor. Paris midfielder Gueye supports the midfield barrier. It is Mane who can already create enough offensive threats. From the perspective of the strength of the lineup, Senegal, as a favorite to win the championship, deserves it, at least it can break into the top 4.

2. Algeria (Odds to win: 7)

The last African Cup team won the African Championship, and in this cup, the team will definitely still hope to defend the title. It should be noted that the team has been undefeated for 33 consecutive games, and there are only 4 games left from Italy's 37 consecutive unbeaten record. It is very hopeful to break Italy's unbeaten record. In terms of lineup, Belmadi basically retained the main lineup that won the championship last year. The integrity and excellent chemical reaction belong to the forefront of Africa, and Mahrez also returned to the team. The last African champion, this year's results should not be bad.

3. Egypt (8)

As a team that has won 7 championships in the history of the African Cup, the last cup was upset in the round of 16. Even with a star player like Salah, it still encountered Waterloo in the last session, and this African Cup, the ball The team is striving to make a comeback, and under the leadership of Queiroz, Egypt, which lacked key players such as Salah and Elneny, also entered the semi-finals in the Arab Cup. Now Salah and others have all returned. , the team will still point to the championship, optimistic that Egypt can be among the top 4.

4. Cote d’Ivoire (9)

In the history of the African Cup, Ivory Coast has won the championship twice. The most recent was the 2015 African Cup, where the team beat Ghana on penalties to win the title. In terms of lineup, Casey, Bailly, Pepe, Allai, Zaha and other players were all selected. The midfield and frontcourt are still well guaranteed, but the overall strength of the back line is weaker than that of the frontcourt. The team still needs Pay more attention to defense. If you can have a good defensive performance, Côte d'Ivoire is still worth looking at.

5. Nigeria (10)

Nigeria's preparations for this tournament are not ideal. They fired Gnot Rohr four weeks before the start of the African Cup. Eguavoen took charge of the team for the third time. The current cup is to win the championship, but the team is not strong in terms of lineup. Ishinacho is in good and bad form. Machukwze has just recovered from injury. I am afraid he is still looking for form. Insufficient stability, the African Eagles may not be able to reach the end, but they are expected to be among the top 8.

6. Cameroon (10)

The host Cameroon was eliminated in the round of 16 in the African Cup of Nations three years ago, and in this local competition, the team's only goal is obviously to win the championship. In terms of lineup, Choupo-Moting leads the lineup, with stars such as Anguisa and Onana on the list. It should be noted that Shanghai Shenhua striker Basogo is also shortlisted, but Cameroon’s lineup is still slightly top-heavy, with the center front. The field strength is excellent, and the back line is slightly weak, but the team is fighting locally. If the state is good, it may be able to go far.

Finally, it should be noted that the stadium capacity of this African Cup will be reduced to 60% during the game, and the host country's game will be reduced to 80%. In addition, fans must be fully vaccinated and must show a negative PCR test result within 72 hours, or a negative antigen result within 24 hours, to be allowed to enter the game. However, with the re-emergence of the epidemic, it is still unclear whether the players will be troubled by the epidemic during the game, and how to deal with the epidemic prevention measures in Cameroon. These are the problems that plagued Africa this year. Cup puzzle.