Excitement is building in the final few days before the African Cup of Nations 2015 begins in earnest on Saturday, January 17.
Despite controversies in the run-up, and the persistent threat of the Ebola virus seeing a last-minute change of host nation, the tournament is set to be one of the most tantalising to watch in recent years.
Following disastrous qualifying campaigns, heavy-weights Nigeria, Angola and Egypt will not be present in the group stages, leaving the competition wide open. Algeria remain among the favourites after a decent World Cup campaign in 2014, but with the likes of Senegal, Cape Verde and tournament dark horses Gabon all looking strong contenders we are certainly in for an interesting few weeks.
Here’s the low down on the host nation and a brief overview of what to expect in the group stages to whet your appetite for the days ahead.
The Hosts – Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea was instated as hosts of the 2015 tournament in November with just under two months to go until the tournament began. With the competition originally due to be held in Morocco it has been all systems go to prepare, though their co-hosting duties for the 2012 tournament with Gabon has held them in relatively good stead.
By rights, the hosts should never have reached this stage of the competition after being eliminated for fielding ineligible player Thierry Fidjeu. But with Morocco dismissed from the tournament, and relinquished of their hosting duties following a request to postpone the competition due to Ebola virus fears, Equatorial Guinea offered to host. They were subsequently granted the position of top seeds in Group A – the position traditionally held by tournament hosts.
Four venues will be utilised throughout the competition: Estadio de Mongomo, Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyin and Estadio de Bata. The largest of the four, Estadio de Bata, will host all Group A games including the opening match – Equatorial Guinea v Congo – the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. The stadium, which has been upgraded to hold a capacity of 35,700, was previously used in the 2012 tournament, alongside Nuevo Estadio de Malabo (capacity 15,000).
The Groups
Group A Teams: Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Burkina Faso, Gabon.
Venue: Estadio de Bata
Hosts Equatorial Guinea may have landed lucky in avoiding the biggest names during their group games but it will still be tricky. After being reinstated back into the tournament in November, Argentinian coach Esteban Becker has had little over a month to prepare his side for the group stages – not ideal by any stretch of the imagination.
First up against the hosts in the opening game of the tournament on Saturday, January 17, are Congo. The Red Devils got through to the group stages by the skin of their teeth after Rwanda were eliminated for fielding an ineligible player. They sealed their place in the final 16 with a 1-0 win over Sudan, goal courtesy of Francis N’Ganga, making it their first appearance in the competition after a 14-year absence.
Up against the hosts are tournament dark horses Gabon who will be bolstered by the sizable traveling support that is expected to make the short trip across the border for their group games. Gabon fairly eased into their final game of qualifying but left that stage behind on a high note with a 4-2 win over Lesotho. Finishing top of their qualifying group Gabon put in some decent performances and might be on track to cause a few upsets.
Burkina Faso remain ones to watch after their stellar performances at AFCON 2013 saw them all the way to the final against eventual winners Nigeria. The 2013 player of the tournament Jonathan Pitroipa has gone from strength to strength and remains a formidable force for any defence. Under boss Paul Put they’re expected to go far again this time out.
Our tip to progress – Burkina Faso and Gabon.
Group B Teams: Zambia, Tunisia, Cape Verde, DR Congo.
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Ebeiyin.
Zambia have been on a decent run of consistency recently and go into the group stages of their fourth AFCON tournament in a row. Despite an aging squad, coach Honour Janza is introducing more and more young blood to keep the side looking fresh. The likes of Ronald Kampamba and Evans Kangwa look promising for the future but with the side undergoing a period of revitalisation they might not see past the group stages in 2015.
Belgian coach Georges Leekens has worked wonders with the formerly faltering Tunisian side. Now on a complete turnaround in form, Tunisia might not be full of big-name players but the boss has put a lot of thought into building a strong, pragmatic side that will be a strong-threat in the group.
Cape Verde‘s rise to prominence is set to continue during the 2015 tournament. With an extremely strong front-line, including Lille striker Ryan Mendes, the tiny islands with the heavyweight football team could be expected to go far.
Two-time African champions DR Congo were best ranked of third-placed sides across all groups. Heavily-reliant on star wingers Jeremy Bokila and Crystal Palace’s Yannick Bolasie, Florent Ibenge‘s side may find it difficult to progress past the group stages. That said, they have the talent in their side and if they hit good form throughout their matches we could see them through to the quarter-finals.
Our tip to progress – Tunisia and Cape Verde.
Group C Teams: Ghana, Algeria, South Africa, Senegal.
Venue: Estadio de Mongomo.
With Algeria poised for huge win bonuses if they lift the title at the end of the 2015 tournament, there’s huge incentives for the side that are already one of the favourites to win. Africa’s top-ranked side reached the final 16 in 2014’s World Cup tournament, and their performances during AFCON 2015 gave a tantalising glimpse of the kind of thing we might see from them in the group stages. It wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world if they made it all the way to the final.
Two Group C sides are undergoing something of a regeneration – both Ghana and South Africa. The former sees former-Chelsea manager Avram Grant taking the reins after missing the entire qualifying campaign meaning all eyes will be on the Black Stars as they embark on this new managerial era.
Bafana Bafana coach Ehraim Mashaba is a man on a serious mission to reboot the South African squad. Bringing in some impressive youth and revitalising the side’s flagging form the team have made good strides in the past few months and might just be in with a chance of progressing.
But with Algeria looking certain to progress, all-star Senegal, could be the side to stop Bafana Bafana’s progress. Experienced French coach Alain Giresse has assembled an impressive squad who are certain to do well.
Our tip to progress – Algeria and Senegal.
Group D Teams: Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Cameroon, Guinea.
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo.
Former powerhouse Cote d’Ivoire might have fallen down the African football heirarchy in recent years and they might have more than their fair share of defensive issues but they will still garner a lot of attention. Not least because of the recalling of some of their big guns including Liverpool‘s Kolo Toure. Despite their recent issues, it’s still likely that they will progress through to the quarter-finals.
Cameroon have had their own share of disastrous times recently, including a melt-down performance at the 2014 World Cup. Much of the pre-tournament controversy has centered around West Ham midfielder Alex Song, who had been in talks to gain a place in the 23-man final squad, only to retire completely from international football when talks broke down. But the four-time winners of the tournament should have no troubles getting beyond the group stage.
Mali have made a good account of themselves in recent tournaments and while they may not have as much flair or excitement as others in the final 16, the functional side are more than capable of getting the job done. Unfortunately, given the others in their group, it is hard to see them progressing beyond the group stages.
Guinea were faced with additional qualifying difficulties during qualifying by being forced to play away from home due to the Ebola outbreak. But despite this they turned in some solid performances against the likes of Uganda and Togo to deservedly earn their spot in the group stages.
Our tip to progress – Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire.
See more: Matt Carter’s full coverage of all AFCON 2015’s qualifiers.
AFCON 2015 match schedule
(All times GMT)
Group A Saturday, January 17: Equatorial Guinea v Congo – 4pm | Gabon v Burkina Faso – 7pm
Wednesday, January 21: Burkina Faso v Equatorial Guinea – 4pm | Congo v Gabon – 7pm
Sunday, January 25: Burkina Faso v Congo* – 6pm | Equatorial Guinea v Gabon – 6pm
*Burkina Faso v Congo to be played at Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyin
Group B Sunday, January 18: Zambia v Congo DR – 4pm | Tunisia v Cape Verde – 7pm
Thursday, January 22: Zambia v Tunisia – 4pm | Cape Verde v Congo DR – 7pm
Monday, January 26: Cape Verde v Zambia – 6pm | Congo DR v Tunisia* – 6pm
*Congo DR v Tunisia to be played at Estadio de Bata
Group C Monday, January 19: Ghana v Senegal – 4pm | Algeria v South Africa – 7pm
Friday, January 23: Ghana v Algeria – 4pm | South Africa v Senegal – 7pm
Tuesday, January 27: Senegal v Algeria – 6pm | South Africa v Guinea – 6pm
*Senegal v Algeria to be played at Estadio de Mongomo
Group D Tuesday, January 20: Cote d’Ivoire v Guinea – 4pm | Mali v Cameroon – 7pm
Saturday, January 24: Cote d’Ivoire v Mali | Cameroon v Ghana – 7pm
Wednesday, January 28: Guinea v Mali* – 6pm | Cameroon v Cote d’Ivoire – 6pm
*Guinea v Mali to be played at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo
Quarter-Finals Saturday, January 31: Group A (1) v Group B (2) – Estadio de Bata – 4pm | Group B (1) v group A (2) – Neuvo Estadio de Malabo – 7pm.
Sunday, February 1: Group C (1) v Group D (2) – Estadio de Mongomo – 4pm | Group D (1) v Group C (2) – Nuevo Estadio de Malabo – 7pm.
Semi-Finals Wednesday, February 4: QF 1 winner v QF 4 winner – Estadio de Bata – 7pm.
Thursday, February 5: QF 2 winner v QF 3 winner – Nuevo Estadio de Malabo – 7pm.
Third-place Saturday, February 7: SF 1 loser v SF 2 loser – Nuevo Estadio de Malabo – 7pm.
Final Sunday, February 8: SF 1 winner v SF 2 winner – Estadio de Bata – 7pm.