Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations match.
Senegal
Senegal deserved to win all their three games in the group stage as they have an advantage in xG. They will face Ivory Coast in the first play-off round, their opponents took only three points in the group stage. Senegal beat Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations (1:0) nearly a year ago. Senegal are favourites again. They seem to be much better than Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast started the tournament with a win in the game against Guinea-Bissau (2:0). Advancing to the play-offs didn’t seem to be a problem. However, Ivory Coast lost two games that followed, namely against Nigeria (0:1) and Equatorial Guinea (0:4). Ivory Coast should have scored three goals according to the statistics, but failed to do this at least once.
Senegal – Ivory Coast prediction
Senegal are one of the few favourites that played confidently in the group stage. They won their games with the aggregate score of 8:1. Camara is, surprisingly, the best scorer of the team with two goals.
I believe that Senegal will keep on being confident. The side will prove they deserve to advance to the next round.
