The wonderful chaos and unmissable viewing that is Afcon
The Africa Cup of Nations: what a wonder. This is what happens when you combine some of the world’s best players, some of the world’s most forgettable managers and head coaches and some of the greatest fans in the world. It is a sort of wonderful chaos, unmissable viewing that veers from the sublime to the ridiculous. Where else can a former Birmingham City and Middlesbrough right-back – now 34 and playing in the third tier of Spanish football – become the leading scorer? In a preposterous turn of events, Emilio Nsue now has five goals from three games after his double helped Equatorial Guinea batter hosts Ivory Coast 4-0 on Monday, a sensational performance that followed his hat-trick against Guinea-Bissau in the previous game.
Ivory Coast are on the brink of elimination, and now face an agonising wait until the final group-stage games to see if they can squeeze through as one of the four best third-placed teams. This year’s hosts have been humiliated in front of their own fans despite an embarrassment of riches – Franck Kessié, £70m-rated Ousmane Diomande, Nicolas Pépé, Nice’s Jérémie Boga and Brighton’s Simon Adingra to name but a few. Manager Jean-Louis Gasset left out Wilfried Zaha altogether, explaining he “already had an exciting squad that boasts of many right wingers”, ignoring the fact that the former Crystal Palace man has played left wing for almost all of his career.
Of course, any Ivory Coast team will always live in the shadow of legends. Memories of Yaya and Kolo Touré, Solomon Kalou and Didier Drogba are a blessing and a curse. The latter loomed large in the stands, as a glum Drogba watched the thrashing by Equatorial Guinea with all the enthusiasm of Carlos Valderrama at the barbers. “A nation like Ivory Coast cannot organise such a competition and get eliminated so early on,” sighed Drogba afterwards. “There is a real problem.”
Things are no better for Ghana, another heavyweight on the brink of an early exit following a miserable 2-2 draw with Mozambique – ranked 111th in the world rankings – in which the Black Stars, 2-0 up in stoppage time, conceded twice to ensure their winless run in Afcon was extended to seven matches. Chris Hughton has had a miserable time of it. Appointed only in February last year, the manager has been the subject of physical and verbal attacks by fans and journalists alike this tournament, and is expected to be sent sailing through a door marked Do One as soon as Ghana’s elimination is confirmed. Roll on Tuesday’s action, then, with Cameroon and Algeria – both currently third in their groups – among two other giants who could end up on the scrapheap by the end of play. Afcon remains as wild and unpredictable as ever.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join Luke McLaughlin now for Afcon clockwatch coverage of The Gambia 1-2 Cameroon and Guinea 0-3 Senegal, while Scott Murray will be on deck at 8pm GMT for minuteby-minute updates from Chelsea 2-0 Middlesbrough (agg: 2-1) in the second leg of their Milk Cup semi-final.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Olusosun is a small community close to a dump site … I used to go there to look for old boots that I could use to play. This is how I grew up. It was the culture for a lot of us in the community. I also used to sell bottled water on the streets of Lagos, to help my family earn a living. I knew that football was the only way to get them out of poverty, so
I really invested my time and my life into this job. I am happy that it paid off. Getting my family out of poverty is my biggest win” – Victor Osimhen talks to Osasu Obayiuwana about his upbringing in Nigeria, his Afcon hopes and his future at Napoli.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Send any letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Pete Headland, who lands a copy of A Culture of Kits, published by Pitch Publishing and out to buy in early February. Visit their football book store here to pre-order a copy.
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