- Kickoff 8pm (19:00 GMT)
- Egypt looking for record-extending eighth AFCON title
- Senegal have been losing finalists twice (2002, 2019)
Hello and welcome to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Iβm Faras Ghani and Iβll bring you live updates from the final taking place in Cameroonβs capital Yaounde where we have Oluwashina Okeleji inside Olembe Stadium and Daniel Ekonde among the fans.
Reminder: Both these sides lost the last time they were in an AFCON final.
Senegal lost to Algeria in 2019 while Egypt were beaten by Cameroon in 2017.
Line-ups
Senegal: Mendy, Ciss, Koulibaly, Diallo, Sarr, Gueye, Mendy, Kouyate, Mane, Sarr, Diedhiou
Egypt:Β Abo Gabal, Emam, Abdelmonem, El-Wensh, Fetouh, Elsulya, Elneny, Fathi, Salah, Marmoush, Mostafa
π’β³π’β³π’β³π’
πππππ-πππ π
π΄β³π΄β³π΄β³π΄#TeamSenegal π #TeamEgypt#TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021 | #SENEGY pic.twitter.com/o0LB5wADzGβ #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 π (@CAF_Online) February 6, 2022
Right then, one hour to go until kick-off. The closing ceremony is underway at Olembe Stadium.
Time to predict tonightβs winners (if you havenβt done so yet). Go to our Twitter page and vote for who you think will win.
Egypt plays attractive football but I give this one to Mane and Co.
β Radipex Dibotlhale (@odibotlhale) February 6, 2022
The Lions of Teranga will maul stubborn Pharaohs.
β Bw. Musa (@Bw_Musa) February 6, 2022
Oluwashina chips in with this: βStadium erupts into a wild applause as Cameroonβs President Paul Biya arrives with his wife.β
Imagine the scenes if the home side was still in the tournament.
π The finalists are here π#TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/weq7xhWyWy
β #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 π (@CAF_Online) February 6, 2022
A history lesson
Here are the past AFCON winners. Egypt, as you can see, are called Pharaohs for a reason.
Oluwashina is seated comfortably inside Olembe Stadium and is, umm, enjoying the view.
βPolice, firefighters, naval and airforce officers, the army, Gendarmeries, national guard, and othersβ¦ theyβve been standing there for three hours,β he says.
Mind you, he had to walk four miles to get to the stadium.
βClosure of roads six hours before kick-off with police lining up the streets,β he adds.
Still more than 90 minutes until kick-off.
Hereβs Daniel among some Senegalese supporters who have gathered outside the embassy in Bastos, Yaounde, as they wait for buses to take them to the stadium.
Seems we will have a decent Senegalese turnout at Olembe Stadium.
Reading time
While we wait for some action on the field, here is some worthy AFCON reading material for you to dive into:
Prediction time
Right, two hours until kick-off. Who do you think will win? Senegal? Egypt?
Cast your votes now and win bragging rights if nothing else. π
The #AFCON2021 final will see one of footballβs most exciting attacking duos face off against each other as Egyptβs Mo Salah goes against Senegalβs Sadio Mane.
Who are you supporting? π
β Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 6, 2022
Head-to-head
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.
Route to the final
Neither side came out all guns blazing at the start of the tournament.
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.
Senegal had two stalemates against Guinea and Malawi that followed a 1-0 win over Zimbabwe in the opener.
But both sides picked up pace from there on.
What you need to know about the AFCON final
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.
The final will also see one of world footballβs 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 Yaoundeβs Olembe Stadium, whereΒ eight people were killed in a crushΒ on January 25 β a tragedy that has overshadowed the tournament in Cameroon.