From 9th January to February 6th, 2022, attention of millions of soccer enthusiast across the globe will shift to Cameroon, as it hosts the 33rd Edition of the African Cup of Nations Championship.
With the announcement by the Confederation of African Football, CAF, President, Patrice Motsepe, that winner of the tournament will go home with a whopping $4.5 million; runners-up, $2.5m M semi finalists, $2 million as prize money, the competitiveness at the tournament is expected to be second to none.
At the Send Forth Ceremony for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari had charged the Interim Coach, Augustine Eguavoen, and his 28-man team to make the Nation proud by winning the coveted trophy.
Having won the AFCON tournament on three occasions – 1980, 1994 and 2013 – the President urged the team to win the tournament for the fourth time, and write its name in the history book and make Nigerians at home and in diaspora happy.
In achieving this feat, the National team will have to scale the hurdle of the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Falcons of Sudan and the Djurtus of Guinea Bissau in Group D.
The Super Eagles starts its campaign in the tournament on January 11 with a date with Egypt in Garoua, Cameroon, that boasts of the rave of the moment, Mohammed Salah and Mohammed Elneny, who ply their trade in the English Premier League with Liverpool and Arsenal Football Clubs respectively, before matches with Sudan and Guinea Bissau.
On paper, the major obstacle of the Super Eagles in the Group stages is Egypt, which has won Seven AFCON tournaments and had defeated the Super Eagles in their first match of 2010 AFCON in Angola by 3-1.
Since then, the path of both teams have not crossed in the AFCON tournament.
Sudan and Guinea Bissau could be said to be new foes of the Super Eagles in AFCON tournament, but they could pose a threat as there are no more minnows In African Football.
Pundits have predicted that either Egypt or Nigeria would top the Group, stressing that both teams have the potential and the materials within their ranks to outshine their two other opponents, but in football you can never say never.
Soccer analysts had permutated that if Super Eagles qualify from the Group as winner or runner-up, the team still has a long walk ahead following the caliber of players other teams in the tournament have in stock.
AFCON defending champion, the Desert Warriors of Algeria, that is still basking from the euphoria of its 2021 Arab World Cup triumph in Qatar, is poised to retaining the trophy, as it has further bolstered its squad with in-form players, doing well for their respective Clubs in Europe.
According to Manchester City Football Club of England winger, Riyad Mahrez, “Algeria is coming into the AFCON tournament to retain it and add to it two previous AFCON trophies”.
Algeria defeated the Super Eagles in the Semi Final of the 2019 AFCON in Egypt courtesy of a last minute free kick converted by Mahrez, booking a date with the Senegal in the final, winning by Baghdad Boudnejad strike its Second AFCON tournament.
The first ever AFCON glory of Algeria was recorded in 1990, when it defeated Nigeria 1-0 in Algiers, Algeria Capital.
The Teranga Lions of Senegal are adjudged the most Valuable Team at the tournament. They are also tipped as one of the nations to lift the trophy following their impressive run in the qualifiers and the performances of its players in their respective Clubs in Europe.
Senegal have never won the AFCON tournament in its history, and this could be best chance for this new generation of players in its fold to achieve the feat.
Having finished Runners-Up in AFCON 2002 in Mali and in 2019 in Egypt, Coach Aliou Cisse, an ex-international, that was part of the AFCON 2002 team retained the crops of players that represented the country three years ago in Egypt, injecting new ones.
Soccer analysts have predicted that this is a dream year for Senegal, just like the golden generation of Khalilou Fadiga, Henri Camara, Salif Diao, Bouba Diop, El-Hadji Diouf among others, the likes of Sadio Mane, Cheikh Kouyate, khalidou Koulibaly and other could give the country its first AFCON trophy.
The Atlas Lion of Morocco under the tutelage of Vahid Halilhodzic surprised many soccer fans with the omission of Chelsea Football Club midfielder, Hakim Ziyech from his team giving younger players the nod.
The team without Ziyech has been able to gel and get the needed results. They will also be aiming to add to their AFCON 1976 triumph.
Since the 1976 victory, the best the team had achieved was AFCON 2004 when it got to the final and lose to host, the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia 2-1.
Host, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, are no pushovers. It surprisingly defeated Egypt 2–1 in the final of 2017 AFCON to win the title for the fifth time. It would however be gunning to host and win, to follow the footsteps of Tunisia in 2004, Nigeria in 1980 and South Africa in 1996.
Coach Antonio Conceicao da Silva Oliveira of Cameroon would be basking on the qualification of his team to the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup Qualification Final Round in Africa, where it defeated its arch rival, the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire to book a place in the final qualification series.
With the likes of Vincent Aboubakar, Chupo-Moting, Christian Bassagog, Clinton N’Jie and others, the Cameroon team may stun the rest of Africa.
In Group A, host, Cameroon will battle the Stallions of Burkina Faso, Blue Sharks of Cape Verde and the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia.
The Teranga Lions of Senegal are in Group B with the Warriors of Zimbabwe, the Syli Nationale of Guinea and the Flames of Malawi.
Group C could be tagged the ‘Group of Death’, as Four time AFCON winner, the Black Stars of Ghana are grouped alongside, the Atlas Lions of Morocco, the Panthers tot Gabon and debutants, the Coelacanths of Comoros.
In Group D is the Super Eagles of Nigeria, the Pharaohs of Egypt, Falcons of Sudan and another debutants, Djurtus of Guinea Bissau.
Defending Champion, Desert Warriors of Algeria; the Lone Stars of Sierra Leone; Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire and Nzalang National of Equatorial Guinea will be slugging it out in Group E.
Group F has the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia; the Eagles of Mali; the Scorpions of Gambia and the Al Murabitun of Mauritania make up the teams in Group F.
With the Africa Cup of Nations expanded from 16 to 24 teams since AFCON 2019, six venues are expected to be used across five Cameroonian cities.
The six stadiums selected to host matches are the Olembe Stadium and Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in the capital Yaoundé; the Japoma Stadium in Douala; the Limbe Stadium in Limbe; the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam and the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua.
The opening match of the tournament and the final are set to take place at the newly built 60,000 seater Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé.
The top two teams of each group, along with the best four third-placed teams, advance to the round of 16.
All hands are however on deck for the Continental showpiece.
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