Africa’s most prestigious tournament is once again just few days away. The tournament will be hosted in Equatorial Guinea after Morocco pulled out of hosting the competition due to the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa. AFCON 2015-Equitorial Guinea as it is being tagged will take place from January 17, 2015 to February 8, 2015. Anticipation on the colourful continent has been at its premium.
This edition of the Cup of Nations will be without some super powers of football on the continent. For the first time the tournament will go on without a defending champion as Nigeria failed to qualify. Record champions Egypt, who have won the tournament seven times, will again miss out after missing two previous editions. Morocco were expelled as they failed to meet the deadline set by CAF for confirming their willingness for hosting the tournament, whilst Angola also failed to qualify. Even with Nigeria, Morocco, Angola and Egypt’s absence not even a little bit of the excitement and anticipation has fallen away. This tournament will have no debutants competing.
After the draw that took place in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, the continent had a reaction one would call a mixed reaction. Whilst some fans were happy with the group they found themselves in, other felt they were unlucky. For neutrals the draw was perfect as it set up some mouth watering clashes at the group stage. That is the beauty of African football. Here is how the groupings shaped up after the draw in Malabo for the 2015 African Cup of Nations and the cities hosting each group.
GROUP A: Equatorial Guinea, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Congo (playing in Bata)
GROUP B: Zambia, Tunisia, Cape Verde, DR Congo (playing in Ebibeyin)
GROUP C: Ghana, Algeria, South Africa, Senegal (playing in Mongomo)
GROUP D: Ivory Coast, Mali, Cameroon, Guinea (playing in Malabo)
In Group A, host Equatorial Guinea will have the advantage when it comes to fans cheering their own, the whole nation will be behind them. The host had an automatic qualification after accepting to host the tournament. Gabon and Burkina Faso will be familiar to each other with both teams qualifying from the same group in qualifiers. However it was Gabon who topped the group with Burkina Faso coming second with just a point behind. Congo, however might be the team surprising everyone and causing the upsets in that group. They beat Nigeria to the second spot in the qualifies. All the teams in group A will be aiming to sail through to the next phase of the tournament as all have a good chance at it. Jonathan Pitroipa of Burkina Faso the top scorer of the qualifying phase will be the danger man in Group A.
Group B is a tricky group in the tournament. All of the four teams are almost at par and one cannot easily predict who would qualify to the quarter final stage. Tunisia however might be favourites to go through. They qualified and came top of a group that had Egypt and Senegal to beat. If the North Africans can keep the momentum going who would bet against them not becoming the eventual champions. Again Zambia and Cape Verde are two familiar opponents having met in qualifiers. It was Cape Verde that qualified as group leaders with Zambia qualifying as runners ups. Both countries beat each other on home grounds. Who has what it takes to win on neutral grounds? We shall see. DR Congo qualified as the best third-placed team in the qualifiers with 9 points. They came third to African power houses Cameroon and Ivory Coast. Any team that can manage 9 points from such a group will fancy their chance at the AFCON.
Ghana, Algeria, Senegal and South Africa were drawn in Group C, the group of death. Senegal were the only country in this group not to have topped its group in qualifying. Ghana qualified unconvincingly as group leaders winning three, picking up two draws and losing once in the process. Ghana, one of the favourites of the tournament will be looking to make amends for their disastrous World Cup campaign. South Africa on the other hand qualified in style as they conceded just three goals. South Africa’s coach, Mashaba is confident his side will make it through the group after he rebuilt the Bafana Bafana side. South Africans hope this might just be their year to lift the trophy. Winning five out of six games meant that Algeria were the best side over the qualifiers. The Dessert Warriors of Algeria put up an impressive performance at the FIFA World Cup and have since not looked back. Algeria will hope their hard work in the year 2014 will pay off by being crowned champions in February 2015. Senegal have finally hit the ground running after going through a re-building stage and are back in contention for the ultimate prize. Senegal came second to Tunisia in the qualifying phase winning four games, losing one and drawing a game. The Lions of Taranga as many call them have a balanced squad and will be a difficult side to beat.
The final group for the tournament Group D also set up exciting contests. Cameroon and Ivory Coast are both favourites for the tournament and will have a score to settle as the two nations met in the qualifying phase. The Yaya Toure led Ivory Coast will have revenge at the back of their minds when they take on Cameroon in Group D. Cameroon beat the Ivorians 4-1 in the qualifiers and will be full of confidence when they come up against the same side next month. Cameroon were disappointing at the World Cup in the summer, from playing poorly to players fighting on the pitch summed up their forgettable campaign. The Indomitable Lions put the summer disappointment behind them and put up a strong performance to top their group in qualifiers. Guinea and Mali are facing a tough draw with Cameroon and Ivory Coast to beat. The two underdogs in the group will be looking to cause a few upsets and hope to qualify from this difficult group. Guinea impressed in qualifiers when they played Ghana and this could be an important confidence boost.
So now we have seen the groupings, who plays who, who seeks revenge, underdogs, who might cause upset and favourites to win the tournament. Africa cannot wait for its most prestigious tournament to kick start. To all who qualified: its congratulations and good luck. May the best team win.
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