Egypt
– Previous appearances in finals: (24) 1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2017, 2019.
– Best performance: Winners 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010.
– Coach: Carlos Queiroz.
The vastly experienced 68-year-old took over in September and returns for a second Cup of Nations finals after taking South Africa to the 2002 quarterfinals.
He has also been coach of his native Portugal, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Colombia.
Queiroz had a stint in charge of Real Madrid and was assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
After taking over as Egypt coach, he steered them to the World Cup playoffs in March and a semifinal spot at the Arab Cup in December.
Key player: forward Mohamed Salah.
There will be much expectation on the Liverpool forward’s shoulders as Egypt look to make up for the disappointment of an early exit when they hosted the last Cup of Nations in 2019.
He has won two African Footballer of the Year awards in a career that has included spells at Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina and Roma.
Salah made his international debut in 2011 and has won 73 caps.
FIFA world ranking Dec 2021: 45
How they qualified: Top placed team in group G, ahead of the Comoros Islands, Kenya and Togo.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Mohamed Abou Gabal (Zamalek), Mohamed el-Shennawy (Al-Ahly), Mahmoud Gad (Enppi), Mohamed Sobhy (Pharco)
Defenders: Mohamed Abdel Monem (Future), Mahmoud Alaa (Zamalek), Ayman Ashraf (Al-Ahly), Mahmoud Hamdi (Zamalek), Mohamed Hamdi (Pyramids), Ahmed Fatouh (both Zamalek), Ahmed Hegazy (Al-Ittihad Jeddah), Omar Kamal (Future), Akram Tawfik (Al-Ahly)
Midfielders: Ibrahim Adel (Pyramids), Emam Ashour (Zamalek), Abdallah El-Said (Pyramids), Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Amr el-Sulaya, Hamdi Fathi (both Al-Ahly), Mohanad Lasheen (El-Geish), Omar Marmoush (VfB Stuttgart), Ahmed Sayed (Zamalek), Ramadan Sobhi (Pyramids), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Aston Villa)
Forwards: Marwan Hamdi (Smouha), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Mohamed Sherif (Al-Ahly), Mostafa Mohamed (Galatasaray).
Nigeria
– Previous appearances in finals: (18) 1963, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2019.
– Best performance: Winners 1980, 1994, 2013.
– Coach: Augustine Eguavoen.
The former World Cup defender will serve as Nigeria’s coach only for the tournament in Cameroon after last month’s shock firing of Gernot Rohr.
He is the technical director of the Nigerian Football Federation and takes over the national team before the arrival of new coach Jose Peseiro, who will also be at the tournament but to observe only.
The 56-year-old Eguavoen had a brief previous spell as Nigeria caretaker coach in 2010.
Key player: forward Kelechi Iheanacho.
The Leicester City striker has been thrust into the lead role for his country in Cameroon after Watford refused to release Emmanuel Dennis and Napoli goal ace Victor Osimhen was ruled out with Covid-19.
Iheanacho missed out on the last Cup of Nations finals but did play for Nigeria at the last World Cup and was also a regular in the 2022 qualifiers played between September and November, where Nigeria finished top of their group.
He also scored 12 Premier League goals and won the FA Cup with his club last season.
FIFA world ranking Dec. 2021: 36
How they qualified: Top-placed team in group L, ahead of Sierra Leone, Benin and Lesotho.
Sudan
– Previous appearances in finals: 1957, 1959, 1963, 1970, 1972, 1976, 2008, 2012.
– Best performance: Winners 1970.
– Coach: Burhan Tia.
Tia has been thrust into the Cup of Nations spotlight with just weeks to prepare after Sudan fired the previous coach Hubert Velud in mid-December.
Frenchman Velud was sacked after the team lost all their matches at the Arab Cup in Qatar and Tia has since made major changes to the squad.
Tia has previously worked at a myriad of Sudanese clubs but has little international experience.
Key player: forward Mohamed Abdelrahman
The striker is Sudan’s first million-dollar player, who moved to play in Algeria two years ago for a fee among the highest for an inter-African transfer, reported to be $1 million.
He scored in the decisive Cup of Nations qualifier at home to South Africa that meant Sudan pipped their opponents to a place at the tournament in Cameroon.
Abdelrahman is now back in Sudan, playing at Al Hilal and one of the few survivors in the squad after a major cull following December’s Arab Cup.
FIFA world ranking Dec. 2021: 125
How they qualified: Second place in group C, behind Ghana but above South Africa and Sao Tome e Principe.
Guinea Bissau
– Previous appearances in finals: (2) 2017, 2019.
– Best performance: Group phase.
– Coach: Baciro Cande
Cande has become a national hero in the former Portuguese colony for engineering three successive qualifications for the Cup of Nations finals after decades of being one of the continent’s whipping boys.
The 54-year-old, who played in Portugal’s lower leagues, won nine league titles in the small west African country as coach of Sporting Bissau, five of them in successive years.
He had a previous stint as coach of the national team from 2003-2008 when he took over at the age of 36.
Key player: midfielder Pele.
Portuguese-born Judilson Mamadu Tuncara Gomes, known as Pele, had just turned 17 when he made his league debut with Belenenses in 2009.
Two years later he played in the Portugal side that lost 3-2 in extra time to Brazil in the final of the U-20 World Cup in Colombia.
AC Milan signed him straight after that tournament but he never played in Serie A, loaned out instead as he failed to kick on at senior level.
He signed a five-year deal with Monaco in mid-2018 but struggled for regular playing time in Ligue 1. That did not stop him from making a big impact for Guinea Bissau after he switched his international allegiance.
FIFA world ranking Dec 2021: 106
How they qualified: Second-placed team in group I, behind Senegal but ahead of Congo and Eswatini.
