The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations is upon us, with 24 teams competing for glory in Egypt.
Cameroon return as defending AFCON champions, having beaten Egypt 2-1 in the 2017 final.
The Indomitable Lions are out to defend their crown, but will face renewed pressure from hosts Egypt, who boasting Mohamed Salah still flying high after his Champions League triumph with Liverpool.
However, Salah's Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane is also in with a shout of glory with Senegal heavily backed to lift the trophy.
Here's what you need to know for the upcoming drama...
Egypt will stage the competition from June 21 until July 19. Six venues across four cities will be used, with three stadia in Cairo and one each in Alexandria, Suez and Ismailia.
The 74,100-capacity Cairo International Stadium will host the final and the opening match. Cameroon were initially selected as hosts but were stripped of the responsibility in November by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) because "a number of compliance conditions" had not been met.
The start of the tournament was also pushed back six days to allow players to rest after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Teams
Egypt, Madagascar, Tunisia, Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda, Mali, Guinea, Algeria, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Ghana, Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, Zimbabwe, DR Congo, Benin, Tanzania, South Africa
Which Premier League stars are involved?
Liverpool trio Salah (Egypt), Mane (Senegal), and Naby Keita (Guinea) will be among the Premier League talent on display.
Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha and Tottenham full-back Serge Aurier have been included in Ivory Coast's squad, while Manchester City title-winner Riyad Mahrez is Algeria's star man.
Other top-flight players involved include Arsenal's Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Spurs midfielder Victor Wanyama (Kenya), and Everton's Idrissa Gueye (Senegal).
Since the last competition in 2017, the biennial tournament has been expanded from 16 teams to 24. It will follow a similar format to Euro 2016. Countries have been drawn into six groups of four and will face each group opponent once.
The top two teams are guaranteed places in the knockout stages, while the four best third-place teams will also progress. The tournament will be played in Europe's summer for the first time.
It has previously been held in January and February, causing disputes with European clubs who lose players during the season.
Groups
The top two teams from each group will go through to the knockout stages, along with the top four third-placed teams.
GROUP C: SENEGAL, ALGERIA, KENYA, TANZANIA
The likes of top English Premier League players such as Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, and Victor Wanyama will battle it out in Group C for two spots in the knockout stage.
SENEGAL
Senegal do not boast the best of records at the AFCON. While the Lions of Teranga have long been a formidable side in Africa, they are yet to win the title. They came close in 2002, losing 3-2 on penalties to Cameroon in the final.
Besides, three fourth-placed finishes were all they could muster. Regardless, they topped their group in the qualifiers and are one of the favorites. Liverpool attacking ace, Mane and Co. are not ranked 23 in the world and number one in Africa for nothing.
ALGERIA
One-time AFCON champion, Algeria want a second title in Egypt. After a disastrous spell from 2014 to 2018 in which the national team hired and sacked five different coaches, things are now looking bright for the Fennecs.
The North Africans will be making their 18th AFCON appearance, just like Nigeria. Since lifting the title in 1990, Algeria have crashed out in the group stage five times, but will be looking to avoid a sixth embarrassment once the competition kicks off.
KENYA
This will be Kenya’s sixth appearance. All five of their previous attempts to make the knockout stage ended in failures. The Harambee Stars have won only one of the 14 AFCON games they have played, losing nine and drawing once.
In the qualifiers, they finished only two points behind Ghana, though and are hopeful of upsetting their more illustrious Group C rivals, Senegal and Algeria.
TANZANIA
This will be Tanzania’s first AFCON appearance since their debut campaign back 1980, an impressive task accomplish with their Nigerian coach and former Super Eagles winger, Emmanuel Amuneke. However, the Taifa Stars are the worst bet to advance from the group. They did not make it out of the group stage in their only previous appearance, losing two of the three games they played.
Pos Team P W D L GD Pts
1 Senegal 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 Algeria 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Kenya 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Tanzania 0 0 0 0 0 0
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