ALGERIA and Senegal will in Cairo today 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.
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
