Egypt, the most successful team in Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) history, will take on Senegal, who have never won this tournament, in the final of the 2022 edition on Sunday.
Egypt will be looking for a record-extending eighth AFCON title. Senegal will be looking to go one better after losing the 2019 final to Algeria.
That loss would be on coach Aliou Cisse’s mind. He was at the helm in the last edition and was captain when Senegal lost to Cameroon in the 2002 tournament.
The final will also see one of world football’s most exciting attacking duos facing off against each other as Mohamed Salah leads Egypt against a Senegal side spearheaded by Sadio Mane.
The match is being played at Yaounde’s Olembe Stadium, where eight people were killed in a crush on January 25 – a tragedy that has overshadowed the tournament in Cameroon.
What time is kick-off?
The final will kick off at 8pm (19:00 GMT)
What is the head-to-head record between
Egypt and Senegal?
Egypt and Senegal have met on 12 occasions with the Pharaohs winning six of them, the last victory coming nearly 16 years ago to the day.
Senegal have won four of those matches and came out on top the last time these two sides met in 2014.
AFCON head-to-head
– 1986: Senegal 1-0 Egypt
– 2000: Egypt 1-0 Senegal
– 2002: Senegal 1-0 Egypt
– 2006: Egypt 2-1 Senegal
Best AFCON performance
•Egypt
Winners: 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010
•Senegal
Runners-up: 2002, 2019
Road to the final
Egypt managed just two goals in their three group matches, edging out Guinea-Bissau and Sudan with 1-0 scorelines after losing their tournament opener 1-0 to Nigeria.
All three of their knockout games went into extra time. They beat Ivory Coast 5-4 on penalties before edging out Morocco 2-1. Egypt reached the final after beating hosts Cameroon 3-1 on penalties in the semi-final.
Senegal, too, had an ordinary performance in the group stages. Two stalemates against Guinea and Malawi followed a 1-0 win over Zimbabwe in the opener that helped them sneak through.
A 2-0 win over Cabo Verde, 3-1 scoreline against Equatorial Guinea and another 3-1 win over Burkina Faso helped the side reach the final.
Expected line-ups
•Egypt
Mohamed Abo Gabal; Emam Ashour, Mohamed Abdel Monem, Mahmoud Hamdi, Ahmed Fatouh; Mohamed Elneny, Amr El Sulaya, Hamdi Fathi; Omar Marmoush, Mohamed Salah, Mostafa Mohamed
•Senegal
Edouard Mendy; Bouna Sarr, Abdou Diallo, Kalidou Koulibaly, Saliou Ciss; Idrissa Gana Gueye, Nampalys Mendy, Ismaila Sarr; Sadio Mane, Famara Diedhiou, Bamba Dieng
What’s this about Egypt coach not being there?
Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz will be missing from the dugout for potentially the crowning moment of his quarter-century of coaching around the world.
A red card in the semi-final win for Egypt means a two-match ban for the 68-year-old coach and banishment to the stands for the final where he will have to run matters remotely.