Four games will be decided today (Sunday) at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt with group A and B in action.

Group B will set the ball rolling with two simultaneous games in Alexandria Stadium and the AL Salam stadium.

In Alexandria, the times winners and group leaders the Super Eagles of Nigeria will be tested by debutants Madagascar in their final Group B clash on Sunday in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Nigeria have already qualified for the knockout rounds, this being the 13th successive occasion in which they have advanced beyond the group stage.

Nigeria have struggled for goals over the past eight months, and their lack of a clinical touch has the potential to undermine their overall performances in this tournament.

However, two 1-0 wins have put the Super Eagles in a strong position to win this group, with anything less than that deemed to be a setback when considering where they would prefer to be placed in the knockout stages.

The debutants Madagascar, are having a fairy-tale in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. They are unbeaten in the 2019 AFCON campaign, drawing two all against Guinea, before securing a win against fellow debutants Burundi.

Madagascar could become the seventh nation to go unbeaten in their first three Africa Cup of Nations matches, and the first since Cape Verde in 2013.

They need a draw against Nigeria to book a place in the knockout stage. The last debutants to qualify for the knockout stage were Cape Verde in 2013.

The country is on a high after the celebrations of their Independence Day earlier this week, and Nicolas Dupais’s team have a chance to prolong the positive atmosphere back home.

The other game in the group is between another debutant Burundi and a team that is punching below it weight Syli National of Guinea.

Both sides needs to win by a two goals margin if they hope to extend their stay in the competition. Guinea will be favourite.

There was little room for football talks before Egypt face Uganda in their final group-stage game at the African Cup of Nations Sunday, with Amr Warda’s expulsion and reinstatement to the team dominating headlines in an unfortunate build-up.

The Greek-based winger, who is no stranger to controversy, was under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, having released a video to offer his apologies after appearing to admit to sending inappropriate messages via Whatsapp to an Egyptian fashion model.

A Mexican woman also published a video which she said was sent to her by Warda, purportedly showing him naked. The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) acted swiftly, sending him packing and saying he would no longer represent the team at the Nations Cup.

However, the governing body has seemingly buckled under pressure from some leading players, including skipper Ahmed Elmohamady and Mohamed Salah, with the Liverpool talisman calling for Warda to be given another chance despite acknowledging that his teammate had made a mistake.

“We need to believe in second chances… we need to guide and educate. Shunning is not the answer,” he wrote in a tweet that went viral.

Elmohamady held up two fingers on each hand to refer to Warda’s number 22 shirt after scoring in Egypt’s 2-0 win over DR Congo on Wednesday, which lifted the hosts to the last 16, before saying the entire squad had given its backing to the 25-year-old.

His statements and Salah’s comments caused a social media outcry, which was further fuelled by the EFA’s decision to pardon Warda.

Despite sealing smooth progress to the knockout stage with maximum six points from two games, Egypt will be under even more pressure to lift a record-extending eighth trophy, with any failure likely to be attributed to the off-field problems that have cast a cloud over the team’s campaign.

Egypt found no difficulty brushing aside Zimbabwe and DR Congo but have hardly produced any attacking flair despite coach Javier Aguirre’s vow to reverse their dependence on defence, which was a hallmark of Hector Cuper’s era when they reached the Nations Cup final in 2017 and qualified for the World Cup last year.

They will be eager to defeat Uganda and ensure their progress as Group A leaders. The Cranes are likely to provide a stiffer test than what the other teams had offered, having collected four points from two matches.

“We achieved a very important thing; winning six points from the two matches and ensuring qualification for the next round while keeping a clean sheet, and that is a good thing,” Aguirre told a news conference in Cairo.

“Uganda is a strong and well organised team who play with a fighting spirit … I think it will be a stiff confrontation.”

Egypt will play their remaining games at the Nations Cup with only two goalkeepers after third-choice goalie Mahmoud Gennesh ruptured an Achilles tendon during a training session on Friday.

The other clash in group A between Zimbabwe and DR Congo is a must win for both parties. Congo are without a point in two matches while financially unstable Warriors of Zimbabwe have a point after two games.

The bonuses palaver of the Warriors may disrupt their continuous stay in Cairo.

Culled