Group C’s action continues with Algeria taking on Kenya with the Desert Foxes expected to make short work of the East Africans.
Algeria ended the World Cup qualifying campaign with a nightmare of four defeats in six matches and missed out on a trip to Russia. The Desert Foxes backed it up with a couple of fine displays in recent African Cup of Nations qualifiers finishing ahead of Benin, Togo and Gambia. Nevertheless, they aim for the throne at AFCON 2019 where they will certainly be among the main contenders.
Djamel Belmadi will be under massive pressure in Egypt as he has the honour of leading the golden generation of Algerian players. The Greens enter the competition as one of the shadow favourites to go all the way, but can the star-studded line-up live up to their ambitions?
AFCON 2019 | Group C
Sunday 23 June | 30 June Stadium | 22:00
To Win (90 Mins)
Algeria 9/20
Draw 31/10
Tanzania 13/2
Algeria
Algeria start their AFCON 2019 campaign against Kenya on Sunday, 23th June 2019 at the 30 June Stadium. The Algerians will feature at the AFCON affair for the first time since the humiliating Group stage exit in 2017.
Being one of the main contenders to go all the way in this tournament, the Desert foxes are heavy favourites to make it out of their group along with Senegal. Kenya and Tanzania will be fighting as one of the best third-placed finishers. Belmadi’s men finished top of Group C in the qualifiers, picking up 11 points and losing just once from six games. Poor finishing was one of the main let downs for the Algerians as they managed to score only nine goals from six matches.
Predators like Riyad Mahrez and Yacine Brahimi will have to be at their best if they are to emulate the class of 1990 which won their only AFCON trophy.
Kenya
It would be an uphill battle for Kenya and Tanzania to automatically progress out of Group C but they can hope to be one of the third best finishers since they are grouped with tournament favourites, Senegal and Alegria. Kenya began their qualifiers on a high as they were unbeaten after the first three matches, beating teams like Ghana in the process.
The Kenyans have improved a lot as a nation in regards to football and they have produced some world class players in recent years with names like Victor Wanyama of Tottenham while players like Anthony Akumu of Zesco United failed to make the squad.
Verdict: Algeria Win (9/20)
Algeria have been poor in recent years, failing to make the World Cup and getting knocked out in the Group Stages in the 2017 edition. You never know which Algerian side will show up on the day so I suggest keeping things simple and not backing any exotics. Take the 9/20 and hope the Algerian stars come to the party.
Written by Banele Pikwa
