Defending champions Algeria will kick off their Africa Cup of Nations campaign against Sierra Leone, who are marking a return to Africa’s flagship competition after 26 years of absence.The match, which opens day 3 action, will be played at the Japoma Stadium in Douala. The two teams’ only previous encounter at the Africa Cup of Nations was in the group phase of the 1996 tournament – Algeria won 2-0.This will be Algeria’s 19th participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, winning it twice previously (1990, 2019). They will be aiming to win back-to-back AFCON tournaments for the first time since Egypt’s three in a row from 2006 and 2010.1.10 Algeria 11.0 Sudan 40.0 Algeria are unbeaten in their last eight games at the Africa Cup of Nations (W6 D2), equaling their longest run without a defeat in the history of the tournament. In 2019, they conceded only two goals in seven games on their way to victory, and never fell behind at any point of a match.Sierra Leone are taking part in their third Africa Cup of Nations, and their first since 1996. They have won only one of their five games at the tournament (D1 L3), a 2-1 victory against Burkina Faso in 1996.Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani are two of four players to have scored in each of the last three AFCON tournaments, alongside Ghana’s Ayew brothers, André and Jordan.Ahead of the match, Mahrez has warned his teammates to expect a tougher competition that the last time they won the tournament, 2019.”This will be even harder than the last AFCON. The level will be a step up and the other teams are better, but we come here with the ambition and determination to try to replicate what we did in 2019 and achieve great things again,” he said.The match kicks off at 4PM EAT.Nigeria vs Egypt – 7PM EATIn the next match of the day, the Super Eagles of Nigeria host Egypt at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua from 7PM EAT.This will be the ninth encounter between Nigeria and Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations – only three fixtures have been played more often in the history of the tournament (Cameroon-Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire-Egypt and Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana – all 10 times). Nigeria hold the upper hand with three wins to Egypt’s two, although their last encounter in 2010 went to the Pharaohs (3-1 in the group phase).Nigeria are making their 19th appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations. They have reached the semi-finals in 14 of their last 16 AFCON participations, winning the tournament on three occasions.This is Egypt’s 25th appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations, a record in the history of the tournament. They have won it seven times, more than any other side. However, they have won none of the last five AFCON tournaments after winning each of the previous three (2006, 2008, 2010). Egypt are unbeaten in each of their last 16 group matches at the Africa Cup of Nations (W12 D4). Their last defeat in the group phase dates back to the 2004 tournament (1-2 v Algeria).Since his debut in the competition in 2017, Mohamed Salah has been directly involved in 60% of Egypt’s goals in the Africa Cup of Nations (4 goals + 2 assists, out of a team total of 10 goals)Sudan vs Guinea Bissau – 10 PM EAT Sudan and Guinea Bissau clash in the last match of the day at the Roumde Adjia in Garoua. This will be the first encounter between Sudan and Guinea-Bissau at the Africa Cup of Nations.This is Sudan’s first Africa Cup of Nations appearance since 2012. They won the tournament in 1970 but since then have only won one of their 13 matches (D5 L7). Their last clean sheet in the tournament dates back to the 1970 final against Ghana (1-0). This is Guinea-Bissau’s third Africa Cup of Nations appearance after making their debut in the competition only four years ago in 2017 – they have finished bottom of their group in each of their two previous participations, a total of two draws and four defeats.Guinea-Bissau have failed to score in their last 437 minutes of play at the Africa Cup of Nations (over 7 hours), the longest current drought in the tournament among this year’s participants. In the last AFCON, they registered the lowest total of shots on target (3 in 3 games) and touches inside the opposition box (28).Sudan’s Mohamed Abdelrahman scored a third of his team’s goals during the qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (3 out of 9), finding the net in each of Sudan’s last three matches.Additional reporting by AFP and CAF Media
