AFCON
Confident Guinea to consolidate against Zimbabwe
With one leg already in the Round of 16, Guinea will tackle Group B bottom side Zimbabwe at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo this Tuesday, in a decisive game for Syli Nationale.
Guinea is joint top of the group with Senegal on four points each. On the other side, Zimbabwe trails the pack pointless after back-to-back defeats to Senegal and Malawi.
For Zimbabwe who were initially at risk of being suspended by FIFA ahead of the tournament, they really have nothing to lose but to just place to retain their honour.
They had been once again left empty-handed as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Malawi, that meant the Warriors have lost their hopes of a place in the second place.
The Southern African representatives have now failed to go past the group stage in all their five AFCON appearances and will just play for honour and avoid losing all their group games.
But their coach, Norma Mapeza hasan alibi. “The players we missed were a huge blow for us. They are players who have been a great help to us during the playoffs.
“We played very well against Senegal, holding them down until twenty seconds from the end. We had chances to win against Malawi, especially in the first half. So, we will try to retain the positive to get a good result against Guinea.”
The coach’s point of view is supported by defender, Jordan Zemura who said: “We are a bit sad by the absence of our colleagues. They bring confidence and experience to the group. We are ready to face Guinea and our main objective is to win. It is being a good experience, and personally I will leave this country with a lot of learning.”
But for Guinea, it is forward to the next round. Syli Nationale started the tournament well. A win over Malawi and holding favourites Senegal to a barren stalemate meant that Guinea are on four points and almost secured their place in the next round.
Nabi Keita colleagues have shown courage and entertaining football that they would like to repeat against Zimbabwe to guarantee their qualification, and why not top the group.
They are however not taking anything for granted. Hear Coach Kaba Diawara: “Winning would be important for us. There is determination and motivation among the team to move forward.
“We have tried to keep the high levels of concentration in the players to win the game. We are not in next round yet, so we should work hard to get the three points and, if possible, get the first position. We are building a strong team with many promising players.”
Mohamed Ali Camara, a defender fo Guinea soke in the same vein: “We have a young team and we have tried to keep our spirits strong. We will go into the game with a positive attitude and of course with maximum concentration. Our team is full of confidence before this game.”
The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has sacked its Serbian coach, Milutin Sredojević who is popularly known as Micho.
This is coming ahead of Libya’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations clashes with Nigeria next month.
Paradoxically, Sports Village Square gathered that the coach’s contract was only recently renewed for six months before the axe fell on the Serbian.
His sack was precipitated by the results obtained in their teo matches of the AFCON qualifiers.
Libya drew 1-1 with Rwanda at home and lost 2-1 away to Benin Republic despite beig a goal up at half time.
The Libyan side, Mediterranean Knights are due to play against the Nigeria Super Eagles in Uyo on 6 October while the return leg holds on 14 October at the 11 July Stadium in Tripoli.
According to information Sports Village Square gathered from Tripoli, the Mediterranean Knights’ coach, Micho led the Libyan national team to win nine matches since taking over in October of last year, he failed to build a strong team due to his poor choices.
He also took a risk with the footballers chosen in the AFCON qualifiers, and the result was shocking to the Libyan sports audience.
According to sources close to the Libyan Football Federation, there is a strong tendency to sign a national coach to lead the Libyan team during the remaining qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has lashed out at Ghana and some other African countries whose home grounds were recently banned from hosting CAF matches owing to inadequate facilities. He made the remarks in Nairobi, Kenya during a press conference,
After the MatchDay 2 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, CAF ruled Ghana’s Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as being inadequate to host international matches. Being the only approved ground in the country, Ghana will now look towards either Cote d’Ivoire or Togo for their remaining home matches of the Afcon qualifiers.
Other African countries without approved home grounds are: Djibouti, Chad, Niger, Eritrea, Gabon, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, São Tomé and Burundi.
Motsepe voiced his frustration over the recurring issue of nations being unable to host home games.
“Nothing frustrates me more than a national team or club side having to play home matches outside,” he stated.
He stressed the significance of playing in front of home fans, adding, “You can’t grow football if the national teams or club sides aren’t playing in front of their home fans.”
Motsepe reiterated CAF’s commitment to working with countries to ensure they have at least one suitable stadium to host international fixtures.
“Our conversations in every country are to make sure there is at least one stadium capable of hosting a CAF category C game,” he emphasized.
The on-going CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Coaches Symposium in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire has brought together, the last three coaches that handled the Nigeria national football team.
Gernot Rohr, Jose Peseiro and Austin Eguavoen are part of the the elite coaches currently gathered in Abidjan.
Gernot Rohr whose tenure of 5 years and 55 matches is the longest ever by any coach in Nigeria, is currently handling Nigeria’s Africa Cupof Nations and World Cup qualifying rivals, Benin Republic. He was succeeded in the interim by Austin Eguavoen who is currently having another interim stint.
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