Great competitions bring out the best teams in no clearer way. This has been seen in this year's African Cup of Nations as the boys have surely been sifted from the men in this instance. This has been made clear for everyone to see as we are now in the penultimate stage of the competition. This tournament has been filled with great moments with the teams who surely deserve it right in the mix until the end. Two of such teams have been Nigeria and Algeria. With the end of this competition already upon us, this game has been billed as the final before the final and anyone who comes out victorious would surely be considered favorites to lift the trophy.
Nigeria
Nigeria has had a great tournament so far. Billed to top their group at the beginning, they came out firing on all cylinders which saw them lead the group by 6 points after the first two games. However, a shocking loss to Madagascar in the last game proved to be enough to ensure they finished in 2nd place in their group with Madagascar topping the pile with 7 points. The knockout stages saw them face Cameroon who was the defending champions. This saw them come back from behind to take the game 3-2. A match against their rivals South Africa also ended in their favor with a goal against Ekong proving to be decisive in the wrong run. Now they face Algeria in what would be the game of their lives. Algeria would not be a walk in the park.
Algeria
Algeria has had a terrific tournament, even better than the Nigerians. Running out on top of their group, they were undoubtedly one of their favorites from the start. Their win against Senegal only served to reinforce their belief that they would be able to go right till the end. Their toughest challenge so far would be their meeting against the Ivorians where they needed penalties to brush them outside. The match against the Nigerians would be a different kind of test and a win against them would even make their push more pronounceable. The form of both teams has also caused many to look forward to this game.
Form
Nigeria has been in good form and par the defeat against Madagascar have looked almost unplayable. They would surely want their good run to continue when they face Algeria. However, they would be coming up against a team who had simply failed to lose in any of their five encounters so far in the tournament. However, Nigeria has won five out of the last seven games that have been played between both sides meaning that hey might come into this game with the psychological edge.
However, Algeria won the last game against the Super Eagles and therefore would feel suitably confident on how to handle them on Sunday.
The finals are here already and there are just 90 minutes separating us from it. It is bound to get interesting.
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