- African Nations Cup reached the semifinals stage.
- Burkina Faso and Senegal meet in the first semifinals of the Africa Nations Cup.
- The hosts, Cameroon, face Egypt and Mohamed Salah.
African Nations Cup entered its final stage, and everything came down to four teams.
The first semifinals matchup takes place on Wednesday, and the two rivals in it will be Burkina Faso and Senegal. One day after, Cameroon will take on the top rival for the title, Egypt, in arguably the biggest clash so far at this tournament.
Senegal vs. Burkina Faso Prediction, Odds, Pick
After looking at the overall situation at first glance, Senegal will have a very hard task here despite being a favorite. They are up against one of the toughest teams in the entire tournament, who also doesn’t have any pressure, unlike Mane and the company.
Senegal scored only one goal in the group stage, but after that significantly improved its form, netting five more times in two knockout events. On the other side, Burkina Faso managed to hit the back of the rival’s net exactly once in every game played. After losing to Cameroon in the opener, they tightened up the backline providing two clean sheets.
The most recent was in the quarterfinals against Tunisia, 1-0. Senegal was better than Equatorial Guinea in the stage, 3-1. While the Lions of Teranga like to attack, Burkina Faso is an extremely defensive-minded unit, that often protects the box with all 11 players.
We predict a very tough game, without too many chances nor goals, two at most. The odds for this pick are very low, and we will go with the different one, which is Senegal to win, at -110.
Pick: Senegal -110
Cameroon vs. Egypt Preview, Odds, Prediction
The hosts are in euphoria as they have a unique chance to go all the way and win the first continental title since 2017, once they beat the Pharaons in the finals.
So far, we’ve seen the Indomitable Lions winning four of five games, and scoring two or more goals in all but that one event. Captain Vincent Aboubakar is the top scorer of the tournament, and he is firing from all cylinders. All the players are following their leader, who is executing superbly and not only that but constantly creating pressure on the rival’s defenders. It further opens a lot of space for the rest of the team to attack.
On the other hand, Egypt had one very nasty path to the semis. The Pharaons opened the tournament with a loss to Nigeria, but, after that, went on to post three consecutive clean sheets. They eliminated two of the favorites for the title, Ivory Coast and Morocco, which must be respected.
The Egyptians’ defense is rock solid, but we really doubt that they have enough power to stop Aboubakar. Meanwhile, the hosts’ backline is not as strong as it should be, delivering just one clean sheet throughout the entire tournament. The odds on both teams scoring are very high, +135, and we believe they are worth risking.
Pick: Both teams to score +135
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