AFCON 2021 Finals: Senegal vs Egypt Prediction

After 4 weeks of highs and lows of this tournament, we have made it to the final stages of the tournament this weekend. On Sunday, the two finalists, two-time runners up Senegal will go against Egypt, the seven-time champions. The two former Liverpool teammates Salah & Mane will go head-to-head to see who can lead their country to a win and declare tournament champions of the AFCON.

It has been a bumpy ride to the final for both teams, especially Egypt. They lost their first match in the group stage against Nigeria, then went on a five win streak. Two of those five wins were penalty shootouts. The Senegal team had a rough and underwhelming start to the tournament but managed to finish as group winners despite their below average performances. Since the last sixteen, they have scored a total of eight goals and beaten their opponents in regular time, no extra time or even penalties.

My prediction for the final will be a Senegal win in extra time. I’m going for them because they have the most goals in the tournament and they do not rely on one player. For Egypt, this is not their best tournament but they made it to the finals and now face their toughest challenge. This also has been an underwhelming tournament for Salah. He has struggled throughout the tournament. Overall, Senegal is just a better team than Egypt and this is their return to the final. The last tournament they made it to the final but lost to Algeria. This time around I genuinely believe they will win and have their first taste in becoming champions of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.