On Tuesday, the Confederations of African Football (CAF) conducted the draw for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) scheduled to hold in Cameroon next January.
Completesports.com’s AUGUSTINE AKHILOMEN takes a look at the Super Eagles of Nigeria opponents in Group D – Egypt, Sudan, and Guinea-Bissau, what to expect from each team, as well as the players to watch out for.
EGYPT
The seven-time Africa Cup of Nations winners are always the top favourites to win the trophy considering their history at the tournament. The Pharaohs will be aiming to lift their 8th AFCON title, but will have to negotiate the group phase first with competition from the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Sudan, and Guinea-Bissau.
Interestingly, Egypt will face Nigeria in the Group D opening fixture on January 11, a game that could possibly decide who tops the group.
Recall that the North African team are among the eight teams that went unbeaten during the qualifying campaigns.
Player To Watch
Mohamed Salah: No doubt, the Liverpool star man has been one of the biggest players in the history of Egyptian football. Salah, who has become a household name both at home and Liverpool, will be hoping to lead his team to the glory old days.
He will definitely be a nightmare for many defenders at the tournament, including the Super Eagles of Nigeria going by his exploits in Europe and the Premier League. Join BetRivers Colorado Sportsbook today and find out why we’re one of the best online sportsbooks in the U.S.!
Coach: Hossam El Badry
AFCON Titles: (7) 1957, 1959, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010
SUDAN
Sudan’s last impressive performance at the Africa Cup of Nations was in 1970 when the team, against all odds, reached the final and claimed the champions’ crown. But since then, the team has failed to taste from the cup of victory as they always struggled to qualify for the tournament.
Player To Watch
Ramadan Agab: The Al-Merrikh SC striker will be eager to help his team create a major upset in a group that consists of Nigeria, Egypt, Guinea Bissau . Known for his speed, skills, and ability to split defence with his passes, Agab is definitely a player to watch.
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Coach: Hubert Velud
AFCON Titles: (1) 1970
GUINEA-BISSAU
Considered as a dark horse in Group D, Guinea-Bissau will be making their third appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. The team qualified after edging out Congo 3-0 in their last qualifying fixture.
Guinea-Bissau will be a tough nut to crack considering the fact that they held their own against a high-flying side like Senegal in the same group during the qualifying series. They will give the trio of Nigeria, Egypt, and Sudan a run for their money in the group.
Player To Watch
Jorginho: Jorginho represented Portugal at the youth level before changing allegiance to play for Guinea-Bissau at senior international level. He was part of the Portuguese squad at the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, appearing in three games – including eight minutes in the final against Germany – for the eventual runners-up.
He played a key part in Guinea-Bissau’s qualification for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations as one of his goals condemned Congo to defeat during the final game of the qualifying series.
Coach: Baciro Cande
AFCON Titles: None
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COMMENTS
Goodmorning all… Special goodmorning to my sparring partner @Dr.Drey… Lol. Baba… I am still waiting for you to submit results of your research on brother Nosa’s missing caps o… Lol
OK. Now to Coach Rohr and his recent words about Mo Salah… I don’t want to believe he is focusing too much energy on Mo Salah, how to stop him and then others will do us danmage.
The way our coach is hailing Salah can even make his own players believe less in themselves… a coach who continues to question why our players are not playing in top clubs… yet singing such fear-driven eulogies on Mo Salah.
I think Rohr should focus on the whole Egypt team and not just Mo Salah… Cameroon 2022 will determine how much he is tolerated going further after that period.
Well… I am wishing Super Eagles best of luck and success come world cup qualifiers and Cameroon 2022. One love…
@Jimmyball. I want to support buou on this. I think rohr has failed to understand the terrain where he is working. This is Nigeria and this is the super eagles. We are talking about African countries here. Nigerians don’t get scared of any African player. We shouldn’t. There is no need for it.
Salah is good but you make.moise about Salah.
This type of talk brings hatred from Nigerians towards him. He should go and learn from westerhof..
I think they need to talk to him.
Afcon is a competition where we have played in more finals than most countries. We have played in the final stages than most countries..
He needs help to talk confidence and talk as a Nigerian. Oh I miss westerhof in those days. He speak confidence into his team.
Well we should also consider the fact that journalists may also not be quoting him right.
He should be warned not to talk about this nonesense young team thing. This team is of right age. He should go and win afcon for us. If he can’t win it, we should be looking for another coach. We will only retain him if we can’t find a good Coach ans if he at least get to the finals of afcon.
I like him but his utterances does not show Nigeria l. He needs help in this area.
Your coach has lost already even before the day of battle.
Six years at the helm of affairs but baba is still singing Young team song up and down…..i don tire for the man. How far we will go in AFCON wont be because of his tactics but sheer individual brillIance from our players…this is evidence in most of our games under Rohr….For his fan boys on CS who come here to defend him, its a hard pill for you all to swallow….Rohr has nothing to offer the SE.
Rohr doesn’t inspire confidence. The NFF should go to Ajax or FC Porto to get some assistance. Technically, he is not sound. Praising Salah shows the kind of mentality he has and I wouldn’t be surprised if Egypt defeats Nigeria.
Rohr is having sleepless nights over Salah as we speck.
Didn’t South Africans kicked then out in their own home grounds in the last AFCON. Didn’t Nigeria scored the fastest goal against Egypt at Asaba during the friendly match the last time Nigeria meet them ? They will not easily forget a Nigerian called Paul Anounchu for that Goal of the decade, in my opinion. For Rohr, please, Egypt is beatable if you believe. Don’t be a jerk. Be a man.
Nothing wrong in recognizing the danger that Salah brings. He isn’t unstoppable, but we need to be careful with him. Very careful indeed.
I said it once, and I’ll say it again. Our defenders and goalkeeper should resist the temptation to play out of the back in matches, especially against high pressing teams like Egypt. We all saw how Ederson of Man City almost conceded in the silliest fashion against Arsenal by trying to play out from the back. So many silly goals have been conceded in this fashion, but teams simply refuse to learn their lessons.
Playing out from the back may make you look like Barca, but just one error, and the ball rests in your net. Salah in particular will benefit from any errors made while attempting to play from the back.
They should also be careful with the offside trap. Salah is adept at beating offside traps, and all he needs is one chance. A word is enough for the wise……