The Prague Post - Salah and Haller go head to head as African heavyweights clash

EUR -
AED 4.32593
AFN 82.295267
ALL 97.926267
AMD 452.928986
ANG 2.108042
AOA 1080.158129
ARS 1450.538131
AUD 1.798909
AWG 2.123211
AZN 1.97697
BAM 1.955925
BBD 2.378252
BDT 144.489247
BGN 1.956569
BHD 0.443228
BIF 3509.024569
BMD 1.177925
BND 1.500096
BOB 8.139521
BRL 6.382709
BSD 1.177875
BTN 100.523433
BWP 15.600998
BYN 3.854647
BYR 23087.337533
BZD 2.365951
CAD 1.60298
CDF 3398.314928
CHF 0.935405
CLF 0.028538
CLP 1095.130086
CNY 8.440309
CNH 8.439248
COP 4689.40011
CRC 594.838068
CUC 1.177925
CUP 31.215023
CVE 110.272057
CZK 24.646319
DJF 209.743423
DKK 7.461447
DOP 70.494511
DZD 152.109735
EGP 58.022713
ERN 17.668881
ETB 163.469162
FJD 2.637608
FKP 0.862849
GBP 0.862601
GEL 3.203818
GGP 0.862849
GHS 12.19078
GIP 0.862849
GMD 84.211304
GNF 10215.653777
GTQ 9.05658
GYD 246.425771
HKD 9.246005
HNL 30.773969
HRK 7.536423
HTG 154.649897
HUF 399.191421
IDR 19062.013117
ILS 3.944854
IMP 0.862849
INR 101.068059
IQD 1542.998748
IRR 49620.106802
ISK 142.446945
JEP 0.862849
JMD 188.002032
JOD 0.835193
JPY 170.169006
KES 152.179739
KGS 103.009937
KHR 4732.302856
KMF 492.373362
KPW 1060.132846
KRW 1605.924511
KWD 0.359609
KYD 0.981663
KZT 611.719149
LAK 25381.624361
LBP 105536.55408
LKR 353.392616
LRD 236.165114
LSL 20.719226
LTL 3.478107
LVL 0.712515
LYD 6.344406
MAD 10.572177
MDL 19.84127
MGA 5300.339209
MKD 61.533938
MMK 2473.327643
MNT 4221.28704
MOP 9.523609
MRU 46.748992
MUR 52.94746
MVR 18.142013
MWK 2042.530717
MXN 21.945869
MYR 4.972025
MZN 75.339722
NAD 20.719226
NGN 1802.155048
NIO 43.342774
NOK 11.881143
NPR 160.837293
NZD 1.94009
OMR 0.452069
PAB 1.177875
PEN 4.176667
PGK 4.865311
PHP 66.570507
PKR 334.365799
PLN 4.24495
PYG 9386.600719
QAR 4.304976
RON 5.059074
RSD 117.1875
RUB 92.855943
RWF 1693.208361
SAR 4.415728
SBD 9.820275
SCR 16.592062
SDG 707.341474
SEK 11.264385
SGD 1.500088
SHP 0.925664
SLE 26.444823
SLL 24700.510663
SOS 673.143079
SRD 44.036776
STD 24380.677234
SVC 10.30666
SYP 15315.299293
SZL 20.703325
THB 38.117794
TJS 11.454733
TMT 4.134518
TND 3.43182
TOP 2.758819
TRY 46.916791
TTD 7.988511
TWD 34.086798
TZS 3109.799019
UAH 49.123144
UGX 4225.270407
USD 1.177925
UYU 47.273025
UZS 14790.946584
VES 128.95161
VND 30838.086562
VUV 139.49984
WST 3.053192
XAF 655.998982
XAG 0.031783
XAU 0.000353
XCD 3.183402
XDR 0.815852
XOF 655.998982
XPF 119.331742
YER 285.234647
ZAR 20.734148
ZMK 10602.732671
ZMW 28.533826
ZWL 379.291493
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Salah and Haller go head to head as African heavyweights clash
Salah and Haller go head to head as African heavyweights clash

Salah and Haller go head to head as African heavyweights clash

Wednesday's Africa Cup of Nations last-16 tie between Egypt and the Ivory Coast brings together two of the continent's heavyweight teams who have plenty of history as well as two of the most exciting attacking players in the world just now.

Text size:

Mohamed Salah leads an Egypt side looking to add to their record haul of seven AFCON titles, while the Ivorians -- with Sebastien Haller leading the line -- are chasing a third crown.

Not everyone in Cameroon will have the appetite for the competition to continue after the tragic events of Monday in Yaounde, but there will be a big, expectant crowd at the Japoma Stadium in economic capital Douala, where the majority of supporters will likely be backing the Elephants.

They must find a way of stopping Salah without neglecting the rest of Carlos Queiroz's team, even if Egypt hardly set the tournament alight in the group stage, losing 1-0 to Nigeria before beating Guinea-Bissau and Sudan by the same scoreline.

"We always seem to face big teams with great experience in the competition," said Ivory Coast coach Patrice Beaumelle, whose side beat Algeria 3-1 in their last outing to eliminate the reigning champions.

"They are a very experienced team whose players almost all play in Egypt and so I suppose they are used to African conditions.

"They always turn up in big games, even if they are not playing brilliantly."

Beaumelle, who has twice won the Cup of Nations as an assistant coach, said he was preparing for a "tight, tactical battle but an exciting game."

- History favours Egypt -

For obvious reasons the focus is drawn to Salah and Haller, even if each has only scored once so far in Cameroon.

The Liverpool forward has 54 goals for his club since the start of last season, including seven this campaign in the UEFA Champions League.

He has won the Premier League and Champions League in recent years but is desperate for international glory with his country.

"It is my country, what I love the most. This trophy for me would be completely different. It would be the closest one to my heart," Salah said.

Salah's Champions League tally this season has been bettered only by Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, with nine, and by Ajax striker Haller, who netted 10 times in the group stage and became just the second player to score in all six group games, following Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017.

But while Salah has been playing for Egypt for a decade and is at his third Cup of Nations, this is French-born Haller's first major international tournament.

"In certain aspects the AFCON is more difficult than the Champions League," Haller admitted on Tuesday.

"Sometimes the conditions are maybe less favourable. We obviously do less work together on the training ground than we do with our clubs, so that all makes it harder."

As the teams target a place in the quarter-finals and a tie against Morocco, history is certainly on Egypt's side.

They notably beat the Elephants on the way to winning the trophy in 1986, and then won on penalties in the 2006 final in Cairo, with Didier Drogba one of those to miss from the spot.

Two years later the Pharaohs crushed the Ivorians 4-1 in the semi-finals en route to retaining their crown.

"What matters to us as a team is to live in the present. It is two different teams, different players, different coaches, and the past doesn’t help us to win games," warned Queiroz.

O.Ruzicka--TPP