AFCON
A To Z Of Dramatic Tournament –
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A goal glut, shocks galore, a Moroccan red-carded twice, an astonishing comeback by hosts Ivory Coast to win Sunday’s final after two group losses. The 2024 Africa Cup of Nations had it all.
Here, AFP Sport recalls alphabetically some of the drama from a 24-nation tournament regarded by many observers as the most exciting since the event debuted in 1957 in Sudan with just three teams.
A
Quarter-finalists Angola were a revelation under coach Pedro Goncalves, winning three matches in a row having failed to achieve more than one victory at a time in eight previous appearances.
B
AFCON-winning coach Djamel Belmadi was fired after Algeria flopped, with a loss to minnows Mauritania leading to a first-round exit for the Riyad Mahrez-captained side.
C
Champions Ivory Coast started the final with three players based in Saudi Arabia, two each in England, Germany and Turkey, and one each in France and Italy.
D
Democratic Republic of Congo coach Sebastien Desabre set a minimum target of a quarter-finals place and went one stage further with a hard-working team well led by centre-back Chancel Mbemba.
E
Energy-sapping conditions forced water breaks in each half of matches, with many kicking off in 36 degrees Celsius (97 Fahrenheit) heat and high humidity.
F
Former international Emerse Fae replaced sacked Ivory Coast coach Jean-Louis Gasset after the group stage without ever having been in charge of a senior team and guided them to the title.
G
A record 119 goals for a 24-team AFCON tournament were scored in the Ivory Coast — 17 more than in Egypt five years ago — at an average of 2.28 per match.
H
Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi missed a penalty as shock 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco bowed out in the round of 16 after a 2-0 defeat by South Africa.
I
A hamstring injury midway through a second-round group match against Ghana forced Egypt talisman Mohamed Salah out of the tournament. Without him, the Pharaohs made a last-16 exit.
J
A private jet took Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana to the AFCON, but Cameroon coach Rigobert Song was not impressed by his late arrival and used him only once in four matches.
K
West Ham star Mohammed Kudus could not prevent a second straight disastrous campaign by Ghana, whose first-round departure led to former Premier League manager Chris Hughton being axed.
L
Ademola Lookman played a key role as eventual runners-up Nigeria reached an eighth AFCON final, scoring twice against Cameroon and the winner against Angola in knockout matches.
M
Sadio Mane and Senegal made an ultimately disappointing title defence. After a perfect three-win group record, they lost a last-16 tie on penalties to resurgent Ivory Coast.
N
Emilio Nsue,a 34-year-old who plays in the Spanish third division, scored a hat-trick against Guinea-Bissau, the first at an AFCON since Moroccan Soufiane Alloudi in 2008.
O
Reigning African Player of the Year Victor Osimhen may have scored only once for runners-up Nigeria, but his work rate in searing heat and constant harrying of defenders won rave reviews.
P
Some Premier League players, including Yves Bissouma of Mali and Dango Ouattara of Burkina Faso, did not have the expected impact due to illness and injury.
Q
Despite a humiliating 4-0 defeat by Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast supporters queued from 0400 for tickets to watch the last-16 clash with Senegal in Yamoussoukro.
R
Moroccan Sofyan Amrabat was red-carded twice against South Africa — firstly after two yellow cards then, following a VAR review, he was shown a straight red for a last-defender foul.
S
South Africa, whose starting line-ups included nine local-based players, exceeded expectations under Belgian coach Hugo Broos by finishing third.
T
Former champions Tunisia were among the biggest disappointments as they failed to win and scored only once, leading to coach Jalel Kadri quitting after a first-round exit.
U
There were many upsets with seven of the FIFA top 10-ranked African teams — Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Burkina Faso — failing to reach the quarter-finals.
V
Rui Vitoria of Egypt was among seven coaches sacked for poor results or controversial comments. Under the Portuguese, the Pharaohs failed to win any of four group and knockout matches.
W
South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams broke Cape Verde hearts by saving four of their five kicks in a penalty shootout after a goalless quarter-final.
X
Several Ivory Coast players, including Seko Fofana, Franck Kessie, Oumar Diakite and Sebastien Haller twice, shared the x-factor role during an amazing recovery to win the tournament.
Y
Reigning African Young Player of the Year Lamine Camara scored a superb goal as Senegal kicked off with a 3-0 win over the Gambia, but he made little subsequent impact.
Z
Back at the AFCON after three consecutive failed qualifying campaigns, Avram Grant-coached Zambia failed to sparkle and two points was not enough to take them beyond the first round.
-AFP
AFCON
Hurray, Super Eagles back to winning ways!
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What a turn-around! After four previous competitive matches without a win, the Super Eagles have regained their winning mentality after a 3-0 defeat of Benin Republic in their opening 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series.
The win also put the Super Eagles at the top of the Group D after both Libya and Rwanda played 1-1 draw last Thursday.
It is also the biggest win by the Super Eagles since their 2023 6-0 win over Sao Tome & Principe last year September.
Great man Ademola Lookman, he put in two goals straightening the possibility of his emerging as 2024 African Footballer of the Year.
The current title holder, Victor Osimhen proved his mettle coming off the bench in the second half to double Nigeria’s lead after Lookman’s late first half goal.
The Super Eagles will now honour their next fixture against Rwanda on Tuesday with the hope of consolidating their lead.
Benin Republic with no points and a deficit of three goals are rooted at the bottom of the log.
AFCON
‘Oh Come All Ye Faithful!’, Rev Ikpea calls on football fans to rally round Super Eagles
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BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
The National Chairman of the Nigerian Football Supporters Club (NFSC), Rev. Samuel Ikpea has called on all Nigerians to rally round and pray for the Super Eagles ahead of Saturday’s Morocco 2025 AFCON qualifier against Benin Republic in Uyo.
Ikpea who is mobilizing support for the Super Eagles ahead of the clash in Uyo said that whatever Benin Republic come with both spiritually and physically in the game, we will surely overcome them.
“In the NFSC we have Christians, Muslims as well as those who believe in traditional worship and we respect the rights of freedom of worship of every member and all Nigerians.
“When we are faced with this kind of crucial game, we call on everyone to pray through their various believes because we foresee that Benin Republic are most likely coming to fall back on ‘black magic’ to enable them perfect a back-to-back victory over our Super Eagles after beating us 2-1 in our last meeting in a World Cup qualifier”
“We cannot underestimate the efficacy of the black magic” Ikpea further stressed, “but we believe that when we come together we can neutralize it’s efficacy.
“This is no time to sleep, we all have to rally round and do our best to support our Super Eagles because they cannot do it alone without the prayers and support of all Nigerians.
“While charging Nigerians to be positive with the team, we at the NFSC have done everything positive to overturn whatever plans they are coming with and we enjoin everyone to toe that path through prayers”.
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles camp is bubbling with training in Uyo, as team Coach Austin Eguavoen, has been working hard to perfect tactics with the boys and ensure the Super Eagles soar on Saturday.
AFCON
Will Super Eagles regain their winning mentality?
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The Super Eagles have not won a qualifying match for any competition since their 6-0 defeat of Principe & Sao Tome on 10th September 2023 in Uyo. That was their last qualifying match for Cote d’Ivoire 2023 played in 2024.
Since then, they have played four World Cup qualifying matches without a win despite being the overwhelming favourites at those matches.
A forensic analysis of their World Cup qualifying since that of Qatar 2022 will reveal they had played seven consecutive matches without a win starting from their 1-1 home draw with Cape Verde in Lagos which qualified them for the play off. In the play off with Ghana, the Super Eagles drew the two matches.
In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, they have gone four matches, getting three draws and a loss. The prospect of their getting a straight qualification from the group is doubtful as they have a mountain to climb by winning the remaining six matches, three of which are away duels of which are most likely to be played in South Africa, the home ground of their main rivals.
Zimbabwe and Lesotho play their home matches in South Africa and Nigeria also still have an away duel with Bafana Bafana.
The qualification series of AFCON 2025 presents the Super Eagles a new beginning. Starting from the semi-finals of the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, the team has won none of their four competitive matches in regulation time. The players have a date with destiny in Uyo this Saturday to wipe off the sagging image they have had in recent time.
A win will give the team the confidence expected in anticipation for future fixtures.
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