Displaying items by tag: AFCON 2021

What Algeria need to qualify for last 16

If Algeria’s task today wasn’t already crystal clear, the sight of Ghana exiting the Africa Cup of Nations to minnows Comoros on Tuesday will have focused their minds, reports manchestereveningnews.co.uk..

Algeria, defending AFCON champions and one of the pre-tournament favourites, have just one point from their opening two group games, and are still yet to score, with one game remaining.

Riyad Mahrez’s side are bottom of Group E ahead of their toughest group clash against Cote d’Ivoire today, knowing they must win to keep their hopes of reaching the last-16 alive. If they don’t win, Mahrez could be returning to Manchester earlier than expected.

Not only must Algeria win, but they will also rely on the result in other group game between Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone, while a third-place finish could see them hoping for other results to go their way to scrape through as one of the best nations finishing third in their groups.

Algeria currently have a -1 goal difference. Sierra Leone, who drew with Mahrez’s side on the opening round of fixtures, have two points and a goal difference of zero, while Equatorial Guinea also have a neutral goal difference and currently occupy the second qualification spot on three points. Cote d’Ivoire are top with four points and +1 goal difference.

If Algeria beat Cote d’Ivoire, they will finish their group on four points, level with their opponents. In the case of two teams being level on points, the head-to-head result is taken into account, so Algeria would finish above Cote d’Ivoire in that regard.

However, with Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone playing each other, one of those sides are guaranteed to finish above Algeria.

If Equatorial Guinea win or draw, they will go ahead of Algeria after beating them in the last game. If Sierra Leone win, they would be guaranteed to finish above Algeria on five points.

So, a win for Algeria would be enough to progress in second place, as they would finish above Cote d’Ivoire but below Equatorial Guinea or Sierra Leone.

If Algeria drew with Cote d’Ivoire, they would finish on two points and be knocked out of the competition at the first hurdle of their AFCON defence.

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Tottenham, West Ham Scouts To Storm Cameroon For Super Eagles Striker

Tottenham and West Ham top scouts will be in Garoua to monitor Super Eagles debutant, Sadiq Umar.

The UD Almeria striker was on the radar of several European clubs after Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Sevilla fell heads over heels for the forward last summer, but rumour soon turn to dust and he is now a subject of a bidding war between two London clubs.

Tottenham and West Ham would be sending scouts to Garoua, the venue of Nigeria AFCON 2021 group matches to watch the Super Eagles striker closely.

The essence of this move is to ascertain Sadiq's style of football and report back to Antonio Conte and David Moyes respectively if the Nigerian will be a good addition to their clubs next summer.

Devil's boss, Monchi has not hidden his admiration for the former Glasgow Rangers striker and has indicated his readiness to lure the UD Almeria star to Pizjuan next summer.

But Sevilla must be ready to splash the cash to wade off suitors from England.

Reports from Spain revealed that Almeria is willing to cash in on their prized assets and will be ready to sell their star player for € 30M, a price that is too high for Sevilla while Tottenham and West Ham will be ready to accept such an offer.

It remains to be seen where the striker who has scored 8 goals and 7 assists in 19 matches ends up next summer.

But the absence of Emmanuel Dennis and Victor Osimhen from AFCON offers a fresh opportunity for Sadiq Umar to prove why he is rated as the hottest striker in the Spanish Segunda division last season.

[ 234sportsng.com]

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