This Tuesday, August 17, the draw for the next African Championship will take place at the Palais des Congrès in Yaoundé. Assembling hats, choices to avoid, RFI gives you the keys to better understand the event, less than five months before the opening match of this CAN in Cameroon, postponed from 2021 to 2022 (January 9-February 6).
Like the competition itself, the draw for CAN 2021, planned for June last year, has been postponed until Tuesday 17 August. From 18.00 universal time, all players in African football will have their eyes riveted on the Yaoundé Convention Center where the event will take place. Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, Yaya Touré and Jay-Jay Okocha should be present at the moment.
Four hats according to the FIFA ranking When it comes to CAN 2019, the 24 choices will be divided into six groups of four. To avoid pools where the best choices would be found, these are divided into four pots according to the latest FIFA ranking, which was established on 12 August. Senegal is best ranked (21st) ahead of Tunisia (28th) and Algeria, reigning African champions (30th).
They seem unsurprising in hat 1 with Cameroon, the host country is guaranteed to be in pool A, Morocco and Nigeria.
POT 2: Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea
POT 3: Cape Verde, Gabon, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Guinea-Bissau
POT 4: Malawi, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, Ethiopia, Gambia (148th in the FIFA rankings).
Here are the pots for the draw # CAN2021 ?
POT 1️⃣ ????????????POT 2️⃣ ????????????POT 3️⃣ ????????????POT 4️⃣ ?????? ?????? pic.twitter.com/yue59qWjlp
– Africa Cup of Nations 2021 @ (@ CAN2021off) 14 August 2021 The top two from each group and the top four thirds advance to the last 16.
Algeria: scarecrow of this CANTENTS of the title after their victory in the final over Senegal (1-0) during the 2019 edition, Algeria are big favorites. In line with his coronation in Cairo, Riyad Mahrez’s teammates made a number of good performances and come from broke the continental record of invincibility established by the Ivory Coast in Drogba 2013: 27 matches undefeated since October 2018, one more than the Ivorians.
But Algeria is aware that the African Cup of Nations rarely smiles twice with the same team. Since 1968, a year of transition to eight elections, only Cameroon (2000-2002) and Egypt (2006-2008-2010) have managed to retain their title. And then, since the beginning of the 2010s and the end of Egyptian dominance, the expected team has not won.
Senegal, who only fought in a friendly match of Morocco since CAN 2019, will be the second team in pot 1 to be avoided.
The most advanced groupALGERIA, EGYPT, GABON, SUDAN Where
SENEGAL, Côte d’Ivoire, MAURITANIA, COMOROS.
Difficult to establish a single group. But Zion is interested in the headlines, one or two hens appear. They would consist of Algeria in Mahrez or Senegal in Mané, with Egypt Salah and Gabon in Aubameyang.
The Comoros, on a cloud for their first participation, and Sudan, winners of Ghana and South Africa in the qualifiers, would add a little more spice.
The most open groupCAMEROON, MALI, CAPE VERDE, SUDAN OR COMOROS.
Cameroon will benefit from the support of its people but has not had the opportunity to truly measure itself since elimination in the round of 16 in CAN 2019. Indomitable Lions have qualified automatically and have not had a split game in two years.
Four 0-0 in a row in 2020, a defeat against Cape Verde in March last year: Cameroon has few securities before its CAN. The matches of qualifies for the WC 2022 maybe help him.
Also eliminated in the round of 16 in CAN 2019, Mali has since grown. Its young players have gained experience and in June last year were able to shake Algeria at home, in a friendship. The Eagles lost (1-0) after getting several chances.
Cape Verde, winner of Olympic Brazil in friendly and undefeated in his qualifying group which included Mozambique, Rwanda and Cameroon, would do well in such a group. What to remember the quarterfinals of the Blue Sharks at CAN 2013.
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