The Africa Cup of Nations 2021 has finally pushed through despite the omicron-powered Covid surge. The tournament, which was already pushed back due to Covid, will still feature a number of the biggest stars in the continent and should provide some terrific competition.
So what are the most interesting teams and players to follow in this edition of Africa’s premier international tournament and why do they matter?
Read on below as SBOTOP lists down the key storylines to keep tabs on throughout the African Cup of Nations 2021.
Will this finally be Senegal’s year?
Despite the top talent they’ve had in recent years, Senegal have surprisingly never won the AFCON in their history. They have come close twice in 2002 and 2019, where they lost in the final on both occasions.
But this year is perhaps the Teranga Lions’ best chance to claim that long-awaited title. They have not lost since their 2019 final defeat to Algeria, which is a major reason why the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 betting odds had them installed as pre-tournament favourites.
Their main stars – Liverpool striker Sadio Mane, Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and PSG midfielder Gana Gueye – are all in the prime of their careers, while Watford striker Ismaila Sarr can provide some much-needed youthful energy.
Although, the Lions’ strong defensive spine has already taken a bit of a hit with Mendy and Koulibaly both testing positive for Covid. But they should still have more than enough to win a fairly easy group, and the two stalwarts of their defence should be back in time for the knockout round.
Algeria look to defend their title, unbeaten run
Not since Egypt’s impressive three-peat from 2006 to 2010 has any African champion successfully defended their Africa Cup of Nations title. But the Fennec Foxes of Algeria are in a decent position to break that decade-long drought.
The defending champions have gone an incredible 34 matches without defeat, which is now only three off European champions Italy‘s world-record unbeaten run.
The Algerians still have many of the stars who helped them claim their second-ever title in 2019. Manchester City forward Riyad Mahrez captains a fairly experienced squad that also includes other grizzled veterans in Islam Slimani, Sofiane Feghouli, and Yacine Brahimi.
But they also have a nice infusion of young talent headlined by AC Milan’s Ismael Bennacer – who was already part of the 2019 triumph – West Ham midfielder Said Benrahma, and Gladbach defender Ramy Bensebaini.
Algeria will be tested right away by the Ivory Coast in the group stage. But the Fennec Foxes figure to be a force to be reckoned with in this tournament and could very well successfully defend their title.
Cameroon out to break host hoodoo
While it’s been a long time since a team has successfully defended the AFCON, it has been even longer since a host country has successfully won the crown on home soil. Again, it was Egypt who took home the title as hosts in 2006.
It’s Cameroon’s turn to try and break that long barren run for host nations this year. The Indomitable Lions do not possess the most impressive squad. They will be relying on captain Vincent Aboubakar and Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to lead the attack, while Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa will try to hold down the midfield and defence.
In the absence of truly elite stars, the Cameroonians need their home support even more to get them far in the tournament. The Indomitable Lions have previous when it comes to overperforming at AFCON – they won in 2017 despite a similarly unimpressive squad on paper – and they will look to do so again in front of their compatriots, who will be keen to get behind their national team amid the ongoing political turmoil in the country.
Egypt, Elephants and other fringe contenders
Egypt’s Mohamed Salah is the biggest star in the Africa Cup of Nations, and the Pharoahs’ hopes of winning their first AFCON title since 2010 rest squarely on the Liverpool star’s shoulders.
The Egyptians came close in 2017, where they lost to Cameroon in the final. But while Salah is arguably better now than he was then and looks set to deliver a host of Africa Cup of Nations 2021 highlights, the squad around him has not improved all that much, which will make another deep run in the tournament that much harder.
The same cannot be said of the Ivory Coast, who are suddenly brimming with attacking options. Wilfried Zaha will be joined by Nicolas Pepe, Sebastien Haller, and Maxwel Cornet, who has been a goal machine with Premier League strugglers Burnley this season.
The defence is not quite as solid with the shaky Eric Bailly and Serge Aurier around, but AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie can cover for enough mistakes at the back to make the Elephants a legitimate title contender.
Nigeria and Morocco round out the list of potential title contenders. Both countries will have some key players missing; Nigeria will be without talented attackers Victor Osimhen, Odion Ighalo, Emmanuel Dennis, and Paul Onuachu, while Morocco opted not to call up Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech, Noussair Mazraoui, and Amine Harit out of the squad.
But despite these absentees, both sides still possess some decent talent that could see them make a deep run in the tournament.
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