MATCH FACTS: Niger and Guinea clash in CHAN opener in Kampala
Niger and Guinea will open their TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) campaign with a Group C meeting in Kampala on Monday.
This marks only the second time the two sides face each other at the finals of the tournament, and both will be eager to start with a positive result.
This fixture is a repeat of their Group C meeting at the 2016 edition of CHAN, where the sides played to a 2-2 draw. Niger took the lead twice in that encounter, first through Mossi Moussa in the 37th minute and again through Adamou Moussa early in the second half. On both occasions, Guinea responded immediately, with Aboubacar Sylla equalising in the 38th minute and Kile Bangoura levelling again to secure the draw.
In that 2016 tournament, Guinea advanced from the group stage along with Tunisia, while Niger were eliminated alongside Nigeria. This new encounter offers Niger a chance at redemption and Guinea an opportunity to extend their strong recent record at CHAN.
This is Niger’s 15th match at CHAN. They have faced 13 different opponents across their previous 14 games, with Ghana being the only team they had played more than once, until now. Guinea becomes the second side to face them twice at the tournament.
Against West African opposition, Niger have played four matches with a record of two wins, one draw, and one loss. Those victories came against Ghana in 2011 and 2022, while they suffered a heavy loss to Nigeria and drew against Guinea in that earlier clash.
Niger have scored in all four of their CHAN meetings with West African teams, registering six goals and conceding six. Guinea, meanwhile, have faced fellow West African nations five times before this game, winning two, drawing two, and losing one.
That single loss came in the 2016 third-place playoff against Côte d'Ivoire. Guinea also suffered a penalty shootout defeat to Mali in the 2020 semi-finals but remain unbeaten in open play since 2018.
This is also the second time Guinea are meeting the same team more than once at CHAN, having drawn twice with Zambia in 2016 and 2020.
Niger – Key Facts
· Participating in their fifth CHAN finals, and for the third consecutive edition, a first for the country.
· Debuted in 2011, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to Sudan on penalties.
· Eliminated in the group stage in both 2016 and 2020.
· Achieved their best finish in 2022, ending fourth after wins over Cameroon and Ghana, but defeats to Algeria and Madagascar.
· Went eight games without a win at CHAN between 2011 and 2022. That streak ended with a 1-0 win over Cameroon.
· Currently on a two-match losing streak; a third straight defeat would be a first in their CHAN history.
· Their opening game record reads: P4 W1 D2 L1.
· Only opening game win came against Zimbabwe in 2011 (1-0).
· Held Libya and Angola to goalless draws in their last two openers (2020 and 2022).
· Qualified by defeating Togo on away goals in the WAFU Zone B qualifiers: drew 1-1 away and 0-0 at home.
Guinea – Key Facts
· Competing in their fourth CHAN finals, with their best results being third place in 2020 and fourth in 2016.
· Eliminated in the group stage in 2018 after back-to-back losses.
· Opening game record: P3 W1 D1 L1.
· Drew 2-2 with Tunisia in 2016, lost 2-1 to Sudan in 2018, and defeated Namibia 3-0 in 2020.
· Total CHAN record: P15 W5 D7 L3.
· Unbeaten in open play in their last seven CHAN matches (W4 D3).
· Last open-play defeat came against Morocco in 2018.
· Only penalty shootout loss came in the 2020 semi-final against Mali.
· Scored in 13 of their 15 CHAN matches; only failed to score in two goalless draws, vs Zambia (2016 QF, won on penalties) and Mali (2020 SF, lost on penalties).
· Group stage record at CHAN: P9 W3 D4 L2, scoring 13 and conceding 13 goals.
· Notable group wins: 1-0 vs Nigeria (2016), 1-0 vs Mauritania (2016), 3-0 vs Namibia (2020).
· Qualified for this edition by beating Guinea-Bissau 6-2 on aggregate in the WAFU Zone A qualifiers (4-1 home, 2-1 away).