By Akinwale Kasali
The City of Moroni, Comoros Island Capital, erupted in wild jubilation following the qualification of ‘The Coelacanths’ as the Comoros Island National Team is called to the Round of 16 knockout phase of the ongoing 2021 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
No one gave the Comoros Island Team a chance of getting beyond the Group Stage. They were tagged the ‘Whipping Boys’ of the Group.
Like the biblical David and Goliath warfare, the Comoros Island defeated the highly rated Black Stars of Ghana 3-2 to make a historic statement in World Football.
The debutants will play Host, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in the Round of 16 clash at the Olembe Stadium, Yaoundé on Monday, January 24th, 2022.
Three Time African Cup of Nations Champions, the Super Eagles of Nigeria is set to battle the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia in the knockout stages of the tournament.
The last time the Super Eagles played Tunisia at AFCON tournament, the Nigerian team won 6-5 on penalties at the 2006 AFCON tournament. Incidentally, Interim Coach Augustine Eguavoen was in the saddle as the Coach of the Super Eagles. This may be termed a repeat of that tension soaked match at the Alexandria Stadium, Egypt.
Sadly, after the quarter finals triumph over Tunisia, the Super Eagles lost the Semi Finals to the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire, courtesy of a Didier Drogba strike.
It would be recalled that at the 2004 AFCON tournament hosted by Tunisia, the Carthage Eagles defeated the Super Eagles 6-5 on Penalties in the Semi Final, leading to Tunisia winning the coveted trophy for the first time in its history.
No doubt, the Super Eagles will put in everything in its Arsenal to upset the Tunisian side that has struggled at this tournament, qualifying as one of the Third Best Placed Teams having lost to Mali and Gambia, recording just a 4-0 win over debutants, Mauritania, to garner Three Points.
The other pairings in the Round of 16 are:
Burkina Faso v Gabon
Guinea v The Gambia
Cameroon v Comoros
Ivory Coast v Egypt
Senegal v Cape Verde
Mali v Equatorial Guinea
Morocco v Malawi
Interestingly, the Flames of Malawi; Blue Sharks of Cape Verde; Nzalang National of Equatorial Guinea; The Coelacanths of Comoros and the Scorpions of Gambia, are first timers in the knock out stage of AFCON Championship, while the Panthers of Gabon is appearing for the third time after quarter final appearances in 1996 and 2012.
The Super Eagles will face the winner of the match between Burkina Faso and Gabon in the Quarter Final should the Eguavoen led team scale the Tunisian hurdle.
Nigeria faces the Tunisian side on Sunday, 23rd January 2022, 8pm Nigerian time in Garoua, Cameroon.
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