We meet once again !
Less than two months after the final of the last African Cup of Nations, Egypt finds Senegal, who had won the timpani at the end of the suspense on February 6 (0-0, 4-2 on pens).
And this time, it is indeed a double confrontation that will decide the destiny of two of the most prestigious selections on the continent, both present in Russia in 2018.
To discover
The 2022 World Cup play-off schedule
Africa Cup of Nations: schedule and results
African Cup of Nations standings
A diptych that promises overheated atmospheres, from the incandescent international stadium in Cairo this Friday (8.30 p.m.) to the fervor of the brand new Abdoulaye Wade stadium in Dakar next Tuesday (7 p.m.).
The stakes are too high for these two nations for the 12th man not to play his role inside and outside the stadium.
“
Let's all support Egypt together, let
's be united, called coach Carlos Queiroz, poet more than prophet on Twitter.
I want an Egyptian flag on the window of every house, a national team jersey on every supporter's chest and a hundred million fans united in the rhythm of a single heartbeat
.
Read alsoSenegal, Egypt, Algeria: the CAN team notebook
Egypt doubly revengeful
The opportunity is indeed too good for the Pharaohs, record holders of African championship titles (7), to take their revenge on Senegal... but also on their failed World Cup in 2018. Back after 28 years of absence, Egypt had left by the very small door by finishing last in group A behind Uruguay, Russia and Saudi Arabia (3 defeats).
A failed campaign in large widths and subject to internal friction, several media even mentioning an early departure of captain Mohamed Salah, who will ultimately stay until the end.
Sadio Mané expects a "revengeful" Egypt almost two months after the CAN final won by the Senegalese.
Panoramic
Water has flowed under the bridge since then, even if Egypt disappointed again the following year by prematurely leaving the CAN 2019 disputed on its land.
And so it is a doubly vengeful Egypt that will seek to reconnect with its glorious past.
A secondary past in the approach to the meeting assures the wise Aliou Cissé, architect of the first continental coronation of the Lions of Teranga.
"
Professional football, high-level football does not only feed on the past,"
explains the coach before
"
two very important deadlines for Senegalese football
."
Read alsoAliou Cissé, the patient architect of Senegal
The former midfielder and captain of the Lions knows the story too well and also refutes any status as a favorite of this cleaver meeting.
“
We are African champions.
But we are not favourites, because the statistics say that all the teams that have been African champions have not qualified for the World Cup
", recalls Cissé, who remembers the latest example (Cameroon African champion in 2017 and absent at the 2018 World Cup).
If the coach refuses to talk about revanchist Egypt, contenting himself with predicting a “
rough and very difficult double confrontation
”, his master to play is less measured.
“
It will not be easy to find this revanchist team
”, agrees Sadio Mané in
France Football.
Salah vs Mané, act 2
And for good reason, Senegal's number 1 asset is aware of the realities on the ground, he who will once again cross swords with Salah, his partner in Liverpool.
The two men, who refuse to reduce this duel to a match in the match between the two numbers 10, both standard bearers of their selection, will inevitably have a great deal of merit in the destiny of their nation.
Like Mané, who had transformed the last shot on goal in the final in Yaoundé to defeat the Indian sign, when the Pharaoh had passed through his final.
At the end of the match, the person concerned had also made a gesture of class towards his sidekick on the banks of the Mersey, whom he had wanted to comfort.
“
We had a lot of room before the CAN and I suspected that he was necessarily very disappointed,
says Mané.
I wasn't going to leave him without a word.
What I did, he would have done in the same way if the fate had been contrary.
I said simple enough words to him to try to comfort him, asking him not to get discouraged.
But there will again be a winner on March 29 at 9 p.m.
And no one will venture to predict the identity of the one who will miss Qatar at the end of the year.
No more than Jürgen Klopp, their coach at Liverpool who took care not to benefit either of the two selections by resting the two men against Nottingham Forest on Saturday (0-1).
The German has every interest in remaining neutral at such times...
