Our prediction for this Africa Cup of Nations 2024 match:
Senegal
Match Time & Date:
14/01/2022
07:00 AM
Prediction: 1-1
Guinea
After surviving Zimbabwe in their AFCON opener, Senegal will look to retain top position in Group B when they take on Guinea at Kouekong Stadium on Friday afternoon. The Lions of Teranga were anything but impressive in their first group game, but the bookies still see them as favourites to beat Guinea. A man to watch in the home team will be Liverpool ace Sadio Mane, who scored a late winner from the penalty spot against Zimbabwe, while goalkeeper Mendy and defender Koulibaly are rated doubtful for the game after the duo was tested positive for coronavirus.
Kaba Diawara’s troops, on the other hand, did well to beat Malawi thanks to Issiaga Sylla’s goal, and seeing that both sides should be happy with one point from Friday’s clash, we are tempted to put our money on draw. Both Florentin Pogba and Francois Kamano are likely to miss the game with injuries for the nominal visitors.
Highlighted Player (Sadio Mané):
Sadio Mane is a Senegalese footballer who plays for Liverpool as a winger. Mane was born in Sedhiou Senegal on April 10, 1992, but he made his senior debut at French club Metz. In 2012 he moved to Red Bull Salzburg, with the pacey winger scoring 31 goals in 63 appearances for the club in the Austrian Bundesliga.
Mane then decided to take a step forward in his career as he joined famous Premier League club Liverpool for a fee of £34 million, signing a five-year contract with the Reds. The Senegal international quickly established himself as a first-team regular at Liverpool and, no doubt, he helped the Anfield outfit make it to the 2017/2018 Champions League final.
Speaking of trophies, Sadio Mane won the Austrian Bundesliga with Salzburg in the 2013/2014 season. In 2017 he was named Liverpool player of the year for the 2016/2017 season. Sadio Mane made his Senegal debut in 2012 and he was part of the Senegal team that participated at the 2012 Olympic tournament.
Highlighted Team (Guinea):
Nicknamed the National Elephants, Guinea national team are affiliated to the Guinea Football Federation. Guinea qualified for their 12th Africa Cup of Nations and they will face the likes of Nigeria, Madagascar and Burundi in the group stages of the tournament in Egypt.
The National Elephants have yet to win the Africa Cup of Nations, but they were on the verge of going all the way at the tournament in Ethiopia back in 1976. Guinea finished the final round in second place in the standings, only one point behind champions Morocco.
The National Elephants wear red socks, yellow shorts and green socks when welcoming their rivals, whilst their away colours are yellow and red. Guinea suffered a 2-1 loss to Togo in their first international game (May, 1962). The African side recorded their biggest win against Mauritania (14-0) on May, 1972), whilst a 6-0 loss to Zaire (July, 1972) is considered the biggest defeat in the history of the national team.
