Cairo, July 18: Algeria and Senegal will this Friday in Cairo become the eighth Africa Cup of Nations finalists to have met in the group stage at the same tournament. And the worrying statistic for Senegal, beaten 1-0 by Algeria last month, is only one group-stage loser went on to lift the trophy when the teams faced each other again.

Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) fell 2-1 to Ghana in a 1968 group game, but turned the tables by winning the final 1-0 in Addis Ababa. In the other six cases, the eventual champions won three and drew three of the first meetings before going on to conquer Africa. Africa Cup of Nations 2019: ‘We Want to Write Our Own History’, Says Algeria Coach Djamel Belmadi.

Algeria were involved in a rematch 29 years ago when they staged the Cup of Nations, edging Nigeria 1-0 in the title decider after thumping the same opponents 5-1 in the opening match.

Cup of Nations rematches 1968

Group B: Ghana 2 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) 1. Final: Zaire 1 Ghana 0 1982

Group A: Libya 2 Ghana 2. Final: Ghana 1 Libya 1 (7-6 penalties) 1988

Group B: Cameroon 1 Nigeria 1. Final: Cameroon 1 Nigeria 0 1990

Group A: Algeria 5 Nigeria 1. Final: Algeria 1 Nigeria 0 2006

Group A: Egypt 3 Ivory Coast 1. Final: Egypt 0 Ivory Coast 0 (4-2 penalties) 2008

Group C: Egypt 4 Cameroon 2. Final: Egypt 1 Cameroon 0 2013

Group C: Nigeria 1 Burkina Faso 1. Final: Nigeria 1 Burkina Faso 0 2019

Group C: Algeria 1 Senegal 0. Final: Algeria v Senegal, July 19 (AFP)

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