After several moves by some European clubs to frustrate him, tomorrow the 33rd African Cup of Nations will start in Cameroon.
The competition, which is the largest gathering of African football stars, takes place in a context of protest over its calendar, which caused the refusal of some clubs to register players and how the host country, Cameroon, will close the tournament. dreaded COVID-19. the pandemic to spread. There are also security concerns over the conflict in the English-speaking regions of the country in recent years.
Cameroon hosted the women’s version of the competition in 2016 to test some of the newly built facilities for the men’s tournament, which was originally scheduled for 2019. But the African Football Confederation (CAF) stripped Cameroon of the honor, as the country was not ready. AFCON 2019, which was the 32nd edition, finally took place in Egypt.
Now, all the teams participating in the 33rd edition have settled in their respective venues in Cameroon in anticipation of tomorrow’s opening match between the host, Indomitable Lions, and Stallions of Burkina Faso.
The Leones de Teranga, as the Senegalese national team is known, is the highest ranked team in Africa and is considered the team to beat along with the reigning champions, Algeria.
However, for some African soccer fans, the focus will be on the Nigerian Super Eagles, which is one of the West African teams in the tournament.
The Super Eagles, as well as the Black Stars of Ghana and the Elephants of Ivory Coast are all previous winners who are looking forward to this tournament in Cameroon with high hopes, but lately they have not been convincing.
Since Nigeria fired coach Gernot Rohr a few months ago, the focus of many soccer analysts has shifted to the Super Eagles, particularly on how interim manager Augustine Eguavoen will turn things around in Cameroon.
In firing Rohr, the NFF said it was unhappy with the team’s form even though it won its World Cup qualifying group. Rohr is history.
Despite the absence of some key players on the Super Eagles squad, Eguavoen says the coaching staff would inject creativity into the squad to overcome their foes, beginning with Tuesday’s opening game against seven-time champions, the Pharaohs of Egypt.
Before leaving Abuja on Wednesday for Garoua, home to its group stage matches, Eguavoen, which led the Super Eagles to the bronze medal in Egypt 2006, stated that the dream of conquering the fourth title in history of AFCON on the part of Nigerian soccer is achievable despite parading a team, which many fans feel possesses deep creative abilities.
However, Eguavoen admitted that the biggest challenge facing the Super Eagles is the almost total absence of a creative game in the middle, but assured that the technical team under his supervision will improve.
Bet on CSKA Moscow striker Chidera Ejike as the magic wand to change the creative misadventures of his team, when hostilities begin in Garoua.
Eguavoen is not putting her eggs in a basket. He stated that in case the CSKA Moscow wunderkind is not up to the big challenge on his shoulder, there are other options available that could be exploited to infuse creativity into the team.
The Super Eagles, which also have Guinea Bissau and Sudan as rivals in Group D, left this Wednesday for Cameroon without the team captain, Ahmed Musa. He missed the team’s last training session inside the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, on Wednesday after losing a family member.
Turkey’s forward Fatih Karagumruk was given permission to leave the team’s camp to be with relatives. He is expected to join them in Garoua.
Another forward, Odion Ighalo, was eventually shut out by coach Eguavoen after his Saudi Arabian club Al-Shabab refused to release him.
A clause in the contract he signed with the club, stating that he was no longer internationally active with Nigeria, may have prevented him from participating in the tournament.
Before that, Watford FC’s Emmanuel Dennis and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen were ruled out for the team’s involvement in Cameroon.
While Watford prevented Dennis from participating in AFCON, Osimhen withdrew after doctors advised him not to rush on his return from a fatal facial injury he sustained while playing for Napoli in Italian Serie A. His club also claimed that Osimhen tested positive for COVID-19
Osimhen was replaced by Henry Onyekuru, while the exclusion of Cyprus-based Abdullahi Shehu made way for right-back Tyrone Ebuehi, now with Venezia in Italian Serie A. England-based Oluwasemilogo Ajayi returns for the injured Leon Balogun.
Czech Republic resident forward Peter Olayinka
Since then, he has taken Emmanuel Dennis’s place on the Super Eagles team.
As Eguavoen and his team prepare for the big test, the opening match against Egypt, on Tuesday, millions of Nigerian soccer fans at home are looking forward to a brilliant start.
Some of the best players to follow Sadio Mane (Liverpool and Senegal)
SENEGAL is the first African team according to the FIFA ranking, and its star player is Liverpool striker Sadio Mane.
Former African footballer of the year, who also ranked fourth in the Ballon d’Or standings in 2019, Liverpool will miss Mane very much when he takes part in AFCON. He has 10 goals this season with his club.
The 29-year-old is desperate to win the biggest prize in African football after Senegal lost to Algeria in the 2019 final in Cairo. Senegal has never won the African Cup of Nations.
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)
MANY scoffed when Salah came seventh in the final Ballon d’Or standings in November. It could be argued that there is no better player in the world right now than the 29-year-old forward, who has scored 54 goals for Liverpool since the start of last season.
Jurgen Klopp’s team will miss him and Mane while they are in Cameroon for about a month. Salah carries on his shoulders the hopes and dreams of 100 million Egyptians. He is the main act in a team made up largely of local players as The Pharaohs chase a record eighth African crown.
Salah played for the team that lost the 2017 final to Cameroon before losing to South Africa in the round of 16 to their hometown crown in Cairo in 2019.
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City and Algeria)
ANOTHER former African footballer of the year, Mahrez, captained Algeria to victory in 2019 in Egypt, where he defeated Senegal in the final after beating Nigeria in the semi-final. He is again the star man as they look to defend their title. The winger has been in good shape at Manchester City, scoring 13 goals in 25 games this season.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Bayern Munich and Cameroon)
CHOUPO-MOTING was fired at times during his two-year stint at Paris Saint-Germain, where he was an attacking substitute for superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
However, he still appeared with some big goals and has scored 17 times in 44 appearances since signing for Bayern Munich in 2020.
The 32-year-old, who is 1.91m tall, was born in Germany and played notably for Hamburg and Schalke early in his career before a Premier League season at Stoke City.
Eligible for Cameroon through his father, he represented the Indomitable Lions in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and captained them in the AFCON in 2015 and 2017. It was not in 2017 that Cameroon won the trophy in Gabon, but it is the name most important in The Cameroon team this time looking to win the trophy for the sixth time.
Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco)
At 23, right-back Hakimi is the star of PSG, having played for Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan, and is arguably the best attacking full-back on the planet today.
He will be the man to watch on one side of Morocco.
Hakimi, who joined PSG from Inter last July for € 60 million ($ 71 million), is theoretically a defender, but is primarily a key attacking and creative outlet on the right. Born and raised in Madrid to Moroccan parents, Hakimi was just 18 when he scored in his competitive debut with the Atlas Lions.
Aside from Algeria, the other North African countries, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia are perennial contenders but have disappointed in recent editions. Morocco, in particular, have gone to recent tournaments with high ambitions, but have proven unable to live up to their expectations.
Sebastien Haller (Ajax and Ivory Coast)
The 27-year-old tall forward has been one of the stars of this season’s UEFA Champions League, scoring 10 goals in the group stage for Ajax. He became the second player to score in all six group stage games, after Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017.
Haller, who has 22 goals this season, joined Ajax last January from West Ham United for € 22.5 million ($ 27.5 million), ending a disappointing stint in England to return to the league. Dutch, where he was previously.
Born and raised in the Paris suburbs, he played for France Under-21s but chose to represent the Ivory Coast, his mother’s homeland, after receiving the call at age 26.