CAIRO, July 19, 2019 - Unbeaten Algeria have been crowned African champions for a second time in their history after defeating Senegal 1-0 in the final of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations at the Cairo International Stadium in Egypt on Friday.
The Desert Foxes had been the best and most consistent team in the tournament, and although they were not completely convincing in the final, they needed just one shot on target to seal a win, with Baghdad Bounedjah scoring in the second minute.
Algeria have had the upper hand in the four previous AFCON meetings between both sides with three wins and a draw, including the 1-0 victory over Senegal in the group stage of this year’s edition, which saw forward Youcef Belaili scoring the winner four minutes into the second half of the Group C encounter.
Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi was only appointed last August - as the seventh coach of the Desert Foxes since they reached the second round of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. But the former Qatar boss brought calm after a storm, restoring commitment to the team and moulding it to the formidable unbeaten unit that has now clinched the country’s second AFCON title in nearly three decades. A significant crown that has come in the same year that Algerians toppled their long-standing dictator.
Senegal had to do without their key defender Kalidou Koulibaly. The imposing centre back, who plays for Serie A club Napoli and is regarded among the best in European club football, watched the final from the stands after picking up back-to-back yellow cards in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
The Teranga Lions were the first to attack in the opening minute of the encounter, with Henri Saivet’s cross ricocheting out for a goal kick, but the stadium came to a stand still soon after when Bounedjah scored a surprise goal for Algeria in the second minute.
The striker cut in from the left and hit a shot, which took a wicked deflection off Koulibaly’s replacement Salif Sané, looped so high like it was flying away from goal, but eventually dipped into the net, behind a stunned Senegal goalkeeper Alfred Gomis, who was glued to a spot. Apparently the keeper and the rest of the world did not see that going in.
Following the goal, Senegal bossed possession in their desperate search for an equalizer but Algeria were defensively astute to keep the Teranga Lions at bay. Still M'Baye Niang could have restored parity with a brilliant goal in the 38th minute, but his shot from 30 yards out flew just inches wide of the top corner.
Coach Aliou Cissé’s side attacked more aggressively in the second half and thought they had gotten a penalty when Ismaila Sarr blasted his cross straight at the arm of Algeria midfielder Adlene Guedioura, who had his arm right by his side. The referee pointed to the spot at first but rescinded his decision after watching the incident again on the pitchside screen.
In the 67th minute, Niang had another big moment when he ran onto a long ball and rounded Algeria’s goalkeeper, Raïs M'Bolhi with his first touch, but his effort from that wide position was well off target. Then Ismaila Sarr’s volley from 16 yards flew over the bar in the 82nd minute.
Senegal’s hunt for an equalizer dragged into additional time, but despite enjoying more shots (12) as against one by Algeria, they had to settle for second place yet again and the wait for the country’s maiden AFCON title continues. Seventeen years ago, Cissé endured the nightmare of missing his side’s decisive fifth penalty in the shoot-out against Cameroon at the 2002 AFCON final in Bamako, Mali.
In any case, the 2019 AFCON final provided a perfect platform for Cissé and Belmadi to make a case for African coaches, considering that the continent’s football federations prefer to look abroad. Born a day apart 43 years ago, the two men ensured an all-African coaches affair for just the fifth time in the history of the tournament. The last time this happened was in 1998 when Jomo Sono led South Africa against Mahmoud El-Gohary’s Egypt.
The qualification series for the next Africa Cup of Nations, which will be hosted by Cameroon in the summer of 2021, will commence with the preliminary round in October 2019. In the draw conducted on Thursday evening at the Marriott Hotel in Cairo, 44 nations were split into 12 groups, four of which still have one slot apiece to accommodate the teams that would emerge from the preliminary round. This year’s finalists, Algeria and Senegal are in groups H and I respectively, and the group stage of the qualifiers is expected to last from November 2019 to November 2020.
Below are the awards of the 2019 AFCON:
Total Man of the Competition: Ismael Bennacer (Algeria)
Continental best goalkeeper: Rais M’Bolhi (Algeria)
Top scorer: Odion Jude Ighalo (Nigeria) – 5 goals
Best Young Player: Krepin Diatta (Senegal)
Fair Play: Senegal
Best XI
Goalkeeper: Rais M’Bolhi (Algeria)
Defenders: Lamine Gassama (Senegal), Yassine Meriah (Tunisia), Youssouf Sabaly (Senegal), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal),
Midfielders: Adlene Guediora (Algeria), Idrissa Gana Gueye (Senegal), Ismael Bennacer (Algeria)
Forwards: Riyad Mahrez (Algeria), Sadio Mane (Senegal), Odion Jude Ighalo (Nigeria)
Coach: Djamel Belmadi (Algeria)
