The Egyptian team is looking for the eighth title in its history, while the “Teranga Lions” seek to draw the first star on their shirt, after their attempt to snatch the title during the 2019 edition failed, after losing the final match against Algeria.
Before the expected match, the most important question remains: Who is closest to winning the title?
bad start
Sports critic Mohamed Tolba says that the common link between the two teams in the tournament so far is the bad start, as the two teams presented a disappointing level, during the group stage.
Tolba added to “Sky News Arabia”: “Senegal won one group stage and then tied two matches, while Egypt lost against Nigeria, and managed to beat Guinea-Bissau with a clean goal, and with the same result over Sudan.”
He continues: “It is not about the results, but rather the poor performance of the two teams in general, which prompted a large segment of the public to expect their early exit from the tournament, but the playoffs witnessed the development of the two teams’ level a lot, bearing in mind that the Egyptian team’s journey to the final was more difficult. from his Senegalese counterpart.
Fatigue and absence
During the playoffs, the “Pharaohs” faced the teams: Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, the owner of the land and the fans, Cameroon, while Senegal met the teams of: Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso.
Senegal did not resort to extra games during the three matches, while the “Pharaohs” hijacked the promotion ticket twice through penalty kicks, and during the extra games against Morocco.
In this regard, Tolba says: “The Egyptian team’s difficult journey in the championship indicates the ability of (the Pharaohs) under the leadership of the Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, to surpass the adults, but on the other hand, the team played nearly 90 minutes more than its opponent in the final, bearing in mind The great psychological and nervous pressure that players are exposed to in such circumstances.”
It is worth noting that the Egyptian team became the first team in African history to play 3 matches of 120 minutes before the final.
And he continues, “The Egyptian team lost a large number of its key players during its journey in the tournament, while the Senegalese team was full, and even supported its ranks with the English wing of Watford, Ismail Sar .. The events of the tournament are in the interest of the Senegalese team, but the team that can overthrow Morocco, Cameroon and Ivory Coast, He can also win the title, no matter the difficulties.”
The language of numbers
Tolba moves to the “language of numbers”, which reflects the quality of the two teams’ performance during the tournament, saying: “The Senegalese team has scored 9 goals (3 with the left foot, 6 with the right foot) so far, while (the Pharaohs) scored only 4 goals (2 by foot). left, headed goal, right foot) on their way to the final.
And he added: “Considering the different strengths of the opponents that the two teams faced during the tournament, the modest scoring record of the Pharaohs remains a warning bell for Carlos Queiroz before the expected final, and the team should take advantage of the opportunities created better, because the finals are decided through small details, and an early goal may be enough to settle the match.” “.
Tolba points out that the Senegalese team succeeded in exploiting the opportunities created with a scoring rate of 15 percent, while the “Pharaohs” goal scored only 7 percent.
At the level of shooting, the Pharaohs shot 76 times at the opponents’ net, in contrast, the “Teranga Lions” shot 81 balls, “in general, the offensive performance of the Senegalese is better, but all these calculations may not affect the fate of the final match, as the offensive line of Egypt succeeded, led by a star Liverpool, Mohamed Salah, in ending the attacks better, and overcoming the most prominent negative points in the performance of the Egyptians during the tournament so far.
And he continues: “At the defensive level, each team conceded two goals, and managed to get a clean sheet in 4 matches. The defensive performance of the Egyptian team improved a lot under the leadership of Queiroz, and the absence of El-Shennawy, Hegazy, Akram Tawfik or (Al Wench), because the matter was related to With a successful system, with different names, which the (Pharaohs) missed during the past years.”
Tolba stresses the importance of tackles during the final matches, “Winning the tackles and getting (the second ball) gives you a feeling of advantage over the opponent.”
During the two teams’ journey in the championship, the Egyptian team won 345 tackles out of 682, while the Senegalese team made 295 successful tackles out of 529, which reflects the difference in the physical effort exerted by the two teams during the “Kan”.
At the level of aerial tackles, the Egyptian team won 107 out of 185 tackles, while Senegal won 78 out of 119 tackles.
Salah and Mane
A special match will bring together the two Liverpool stars, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, during the “Sunday match”, and students indicate that the fans of the two teams are waiting for a lot from one of the game’s most prominent strikers in recent years.
During the “African Nations”, the Egyptian star Mohamed Salah contributed 3 goals, as he scored two goals and assisted one, while “Mane” contributed 5 goals (scored 3 and assisted 2).
In general, Salah contributed 32 goals with Liverpool this season, while Mane contributed 11 goals with the “Reds”.
In this regard, sports critic Mohamed Tolba says: “Salah has performed exceptionally in recent months, pushing a large segment of the public to consider him the best in the world right now… But on the other hand, Mane has a golden opportunity to achieve a historic achievement with his country, in front of an opponent led by him. Salah, and we cannot forget some of the differences that occurred between the players during the last season, which Jurgen Klopp managed to end early before it negatively affected the stability of the red team.”
Tolba concludes his interview with “Sky News Arabia”: “There is no room for expectations in the finals, but we are fully confident in the ability of the Pharaohs to win the absent title, and to make the Arab people fully happy.”
