Senegal to meet Algeria in AFCON final

Senegal will play Algeria in the Africa Cup of Nations final after the teams defeated Tunisia and Nigeria in the semi-final.

Algeria will be playing for their first Cup of Nations win since 1990 while Senegal are in the hunt for their first major tournament win when the teams meet on Friday.

Senegal needed extra time to beat Tunisia in the opening match of the day but both teams had chances to win in normal time.

Ferjani Sassi had a penalty saved after a Badou Ndiaye foul and Henri Saivet had a chance at the other end when Senegal won a spot kick with nine minutes remaining. His shot was aimed towards the bottom right corner but Mouez Hassen kept it out to force extra time.

Tunisia defender Dylan Bronn diverted the ball into his own net in extra time to hand Senegal a berth in the final.

A 95th-minute Riyad Mahrez free-kick sent Algeria through to the final, and what a stunner it was. Wilfred Ndidi took down the Manchester City forward who stepped up to curl the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the penalty area.

A William Troost-Ekong own goal had given Algeria the lead before half time but an Odion Oghalo penalty levelled the score before Mahrez sent his nation wild deep into stoppage time.

Nigeria will face Tunisia in the third-place playoff on Wednesday.

Cover Photo: Bajpaiabhinav [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons