Merseyside rejects get Afcon chance

THREE Iberian prodigies who went to Merseyside as starlets will line up in the opening game of the African Nations Cup tomorrow looking to add some lustre to careers that have failed to sparkle.

Francisco Junior, Emmanuel Mendy and Toni Silva were snapped up by Everton and Liverpool as teenagers but never made the grade in the Premier League.

Now the stage of a major continental championship gives them the opportunity to put aside past disappointment and revive careers that have not lived up to their promise.

They will all play for Guinea Bissau, who make their Nations Cup debut in tomorrow’s opening match in Libreville against hosts Gabon.

There will be a debut for 24-year-old Junior, who has recently switched his international allegiance to the country where he was born before moving to Portugal as a child.

Versatile defender Emmanuel Mendy, who grew up in Spain, went from Murcia to Liverpool’s academy, aged 18, in 2008 and spent four years at the club.

But despite getting a squad number for the 2010-11 season, he never played and has led a nomadic existence since, appearing for clubs in Georgia, Latvia and Romania. Silva, 23, has already played once for Guinea Bissau, scoring on his debut in his country’s shock win over Zambia in June to get his country into the finals. – Reuters