GAP IS CLOSING
AFCON: GHANA & ALGERIA SHOCK DISAPPEARING ACTS
Egypt scraped into the last-16 in second place in their group despite not winning a single match.
The group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations finals are done and dusted, and a couple of the favourites have already been dumped by the wayside, with others only scraping through by the skin of their teeth.
This has truly been a competition of surprises, a font of evidence to support the idea that the gap has narrowed between the continent’s giants and the so-called minnows.
Ghana were a shock disappearing act in the group stages, immediately sacking head coach Chris Hughton, after an ignominious campaign saw them garner just two points from three matches.
The Black Stars must still be wondering how they blew a 2-0 lead in stoppage time against Mozambique in their final group match.
Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Richard Ofori will return to Johannesburg haunted by the image of him needlessly pushing the ball behind for a corner, from which Mozambique scored the equaliser that ultimately sent the Black Stars home.
Then there was Algeria, who slumped out of the tournament on Tuesday after losing 1-0 to Mauritania, who claimed a surprise spot themselves in the last-16.
Riyad Mahrez was benched after two poor performances in Algeria’s previous two matches, but it didn’t make a difference, as the Desert Eagles’ wings were clipped.
Only Ghana’s woes, meanwhile, really worked in Egypt’s favour, as the Pharaohs scraped into the last-16 in second place in their group, despite not winning a single match.
Egypt could struggle to go deep without injured talisman Mohamed Salah.
Rather than Egypt or Ghana, it was Cape Verde who stood tall at the top of Group B, with wins over Ghana and Mozambique and a draw with Egypt.
Host nations often perform above themselves at the Afcon, but at time of writing, it was unclear as yet whether the Ivory Coast would make the last-16.
Even if they did, the humiliation of a 4-0 hammering at the hands of Equatorial Guinea in their last Group A game will be talked about for a long time.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria recovered from an opening draw with Equatorial Guinea to beat the Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau to advance.
But it was Equatorial Guinea, with 34-year-old veteran Emilio Nsue netting five goals in three matches, that topped the group.
All your Bafana news and action from their final group game against Tunisia will appear in our late edition and also online at