The Elephants of Ivory will go head to head with the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in their opening Group B clash on Monday at 2: 30 pm Ghanaian time.
The 1996 champions of Africa head into their 2019 Africa Cup of Nation (AFCON) clash against Ivory Coast on the back of having won just one of their last 15 games in the continent’s showpiece.
All eyeballs will be on the Ivory Coast clash against South Africa on Monday in the only battle of the former champions in the round 1 of the group stage.
Ivory are still searching for their first win over South Africa, after having failed to win any of their past six encounters against the Southern Africans
Can the Elephants who have been a dominant force in the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations turn the tide in their favour this time around when they take on lacklustre South Africa, who have won just once in 15 games in the group stage of the AFCON?
Team news/match facts
Ivory Coast
The Elephants finished second in Group H of the qualifiers, amassing 11 points after three wins, two draws and a defeat in a group which had Guinea securing the top spot.
Ivory Coast are the nation with most AFCON participations (23), only bettered by Egypt with 24 appearances since the inception of the competition in 1957.
The two times champions of Africa have an excellent AFCON group record. They have lost just one of their 17 games.
Wilfried Zaha is the most creative player in the Ivorian setup. He will be a major threat in attack for the Elephants.
And the good thing is that a new goal machine has emerged in the person of Nicolas Pepe to utilise the opportunities that would be created by his team. Pepe scored 22 goals in 38 appearances for French Ligue 1 giants Lille in the 2018-19 season.
The spotlight will be on him in his quest to replicate his goalscoring prowess at club level in the Africa Cup of Nations.
South Africa
The South Africans have endured a recent poor record in AFCON. They have managed to qualify from the group stage once in the last eight editions of the tournament and failed to even qualify in 2017.
The Bafana Bafana emerged as African champions in 1996, defeating Tunisia in the final and they reached the final again in 1998 but to Egypt.
Stuart Baxter coach of the team has warned South Africa’s Group D rivals his side are not intimidated, despite their poor recent record at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The dangerman for South Africa in this campaign is Belgian based Perry Tau who has 11 goals in the shirt of the Bafana Bafana. He also had a fine season with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, where he is on loan from Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion.
South Africa are the last team to win the Africa Cup of Nations on their debut, it was in 1996.
Head to head
They have played each other six times in all competitions. South Africa remain unbeaten against Ivory Coast (2 wins, four draws)
Ivory Coast and South Africa’s only previous encounter in the Africa Cup of Nations was in 1998. The game ended 1-1 in the group stages, with both teams going through to the knockout stages.
The last occasion they faced off was in a friendly game in 2014 and the Bafana Bafana reigned supreme, winning 2-0.
Tunisia vs Angola (5:00pm)
Tunisia and Angola will meet on Monday for their opening Group game E clash of 2019 Africa Cup of Nations at the Suez Stadium.
The Carthage Eagles are second highest ranked African country entering into the tournament and they will fancy their chances in winning the continent’s showpiece.
Tunisia have entered into every Africa Cup of Nations with the hope of equalling the feat they chalked in 2004 when they beat Morocco to emerge as champions, so a winning start will be on their cards as they take on Angola who are in the AFCON for the first time in seven years.
Tunisia
This is Tunisia’s 19th AFCON participation, a tally only bettered by Egypt (24), Ivory Coast (23) and Ghana (22).
The 2004 champions of Africa had a stellar qualification campaign. They won five of their six games, losing only to Egypt and secured the top spot ahead of the Pharaohs.
The Carthage are brewing with confidence especially after beating World Cup finalists Croatia 2-1 in their penultimate warm-up game.
They have been a pale shadow of themselves after winning the AFCON in 2004, having failed to go past the quarters in their subsequent campaigns.
Tunisia have only kept one clean sheet in their last 16 AFCON games, it was against Algeria in January 2013 (1-0). – Angola have reached the knockout stages in only two of their previous seven AFCON appearances (2008, 2010 as hosts) and never further than the quarter-finals.
There are no injury concerns ahead of this tie.
Head Coach of Tunisia, Alain Giresse, in a press conference on Sunday said that the most important thing to him is to claim all three points in that game.
He has vast experience as a coach in the AFCON, having participated in the competition with Gabon, Mali, Senegal and Tunisia.
The focus of Tunisia’s attack is Wahbi Khazri Khazri, who put a standout performance with Saint-Etienne in 2018-19, scoring 13 goals in 32 games in domestic competitions.
Angola
They finished top of Group I with 12 points. They were separated from debutants Mauritania by a superior head to head
The ‘Giant Sable Antelope’ played just one friendly game ahead of Egypt 2019, which they won.
There are no injury concerns ahead of this tie
Angola head coach, Srdjan Vasiljevic, is optimistic his side will pull up a surprise in Group E.
“We surprised everyone by qualifying after seven years, our next surprise is what our players will deliver on the pitch. We’ll do everything to qualify for the next round”
Gelson Fleet-footed winger Gelson scored five Premeira Division goals in 19 appearances while on loan at Rio Ave in 2018-19 and is highly rated by parent club Sporting CP. His ability to get in behind Tunisia’s defence will be the focus when Angola get opportunities to attack.
Head to head
Tunisia and Angola have met five times. The North Africans have won twice and drawn three of their encounters against Angola.
The Carthage Eagles and the ‘Giant Sable Antelope’ played to a goalless draw in their only Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) clash.
Tunisia won the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations on home-soil, whereas Angola best finish in the AFCON is quarterfinals.
Mali vs Mauritania (8:00pm)
Mali will engage debutants Mauritania on Monday at the 45,000 Capacity Suez Stadium.
Mali are expected to continue their unbeaten run in opening AFCON games when they face the AFCON newbies. The Eagles in their 10 opening games have won five and drawn five.
Mali
The Eagles of Mali have been poor in recent Africa Cup of Nations. Having failed to win any game in their past two editions, since reaching the semis in two successive competitions- 2012 and 2013.
Mali established their supremacy over their Group C booking their ticket to the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations with much ease. They won four and drew two of the six qualifying games in a group which had Gabon, Burundi and South Sudan.
Mali has never lost its opening game at an AFCON tournament (five wins, five draws)
Although there is not a vast amount of international experience in the squad with only three of the outfield players possessing in excess of 20 caps, Mali have a number of excellent talents plying their trade in Europe with Amadou Haidara and Moussa Marega amongst them.
Marega had an excellent UEFA Champions League campaign for Porto with six goals in the competition.
All eyes in this fixture will be on Djenepo, the speedy winger recently signed by Premier League outfit Southampton for a reported £14million fee, having scored 11 goals for Standard Liege last term
Mauritania
Mauritania are one of the three debutants participating in Egypt 2019 Africa Cup of Nations alongside Madagascar and Burundi.
They amassed 12 points in Group 1 but trailed the group winners Angola by an inferior head to head, which was very impressive for the debutants.
They denied 2017 semi-finalists Burkina Faso a place in Egypt.
Pleased to just have qualified for the tournament, their expectations are low and any positive results they gain will be a bonus.
Ismail Diakite has scored five goals in his last nine appearances for Mauritania, including three in his last two
Head to head
Mali and Mauritania fixture is a familiar one having played each other 28 times.
The Eagles have won 17, while the Almoravids have triumphed four times with seven games ending in draws.
Mali’s best campaign in the AFCON was reaching the final in 1972, while Mauritania are debutants.
