After three drawn matches and while it seems that Gabon 2017 will be very boring and lacking in goals, Senegal stepped up to the plate and gave Africans, nay; the world the first win of the competition.
They overpowered the usual ball hugging Tunisians in a highly competitive and cagey encounter in which the Cartage Eagles could have taken the lead in the opening four minutes.
They were left to rue the wasted chances that came their way when Africa’s most expensive player; Sadio Mane coolly slotted a penalty and Kara Mbodj second goal meant that match was over for the Tunisians.
This first win was not totally unexpected noting that Senegal are the current number one team on the continent and have a relatively fine collection of players at the tournament. The surprise was the fact that Algeria needed Mahrez at his best to secure a point against Zimbabwe. That was certainly not in the scripts!
Zimbabwe should be proud of what they have achieved so far! It was a result that has thrown up all sorts of challenges for the favourites in this group and I look forward to seeing how it all turns out.
GROUP C Preview
Tagged the group of champions, Cote d’Ivoire, Congo DR and Morocco are former winners of this tournament and are expected to do well at this level. Togo completes the quartet.
Cote d’Ivoire are the defending champions and for a long while, they have been rated as one of the top three team in Africa. They were expected to beat Egypt and Nigeria in the semis in 2011 and 2013 respectively. However, they sometimes flatter to deceive.
Having won their first trophy after a 23 years hiatus; it is expected that they will be hungry for more and try to do another Pharaoh. Unfortunately, their influential players are aging and some have retired. Will they be able to cope? I
Getting out of the group should be the barest minimum expectation and they can go to pull their weight in the later stages. A semifinal appearance is not beyond them if they desire it
DR Congo is a team I love to watch. Clourful hairstyles, crazy goal celebrations and fantastic displays of skills/acrobatics all combine to make them a handful. Unfortunately; that seemed to be all about them until they got the third place in 2015. They are surely going to be a handful for Morocco and if they are allowed to play their energetic games; they will surprise not a few in this tourney.
The Atlas Lions (I guess we are really blessed to have so many in Africa) last won the competition in 1976. That’s four decades and more! They seemed to be comfortable with showing up and participating at AFCON without leaving any major marks. Will there be a change in antecedents this time around? If they are able to win their first match against DR Congo; that may push them to the next round where anything can happen.
The ‘Sparrow Hawks’ of Togo are yet to make any significant impact on this stage of football except for a quarterfinal berth in 2013. They will have to pull out a rabbit from the hat to make any dent on their past reputation. It is tough out there in Gabon and only the prepared will have a say!
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