It’s a style that used to win big tournaments in Europe. Physical, chippy, unattractive, spoiling, but it was effective this evening in Cairo for an Algerian side that eclipsed a more expansive Senegal, that probably relied too much on Sadio Mane for inspiration.
You feel that with Mane there, the Senegal team are prepared to defer to the ‘great one’ more than they should, so when Liverpool’s Champions’ League winner doesn’t come up trumps, then neither does his country.
Even at that, Senegal dominated proceedings. Goals fashion games and the scene was set here, when Algeria took the lead within the first 120 seconds through a goal of immense fortuitous proportions.