By John Essien
African Football’s greatest spectacle comes to life in Cameroon in less than a month, as 24 football nations come together to adjourn the best in the continent.
The biennial tournament which kicks off between January 9th and February 6th will see 24 countries slug it out for the coveted prize in what promises to be an electrifying tournament.
Already, the top teams have been separated from the underdogs, but like most tournaments, Cinderella stories make sport competitions great.
In football, when the big team with star-studded players get a win over a smaller team, it’s expected. But, when the mighty fall and the smaller team gets a win, it becomes a memorable upset—gracing the headlines for weeks. It’s all anyone can talk about for months, years, and even decades.
Zambia, ranked outsider, in a previous edition co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, took the entire continent by storm after beating the odds to emerge AFCON Champions for the first time in the country’s history despite facing a star-studded Ivorian team in the final.
The Zambian story numbers among many other fairy-tale triumphs in football history and next year’s AFCON tourney in Cameroon may unwrap yet another surprise package –not necessarily title winners –but teams that can cause a major upset in the competition.
Here, we will be profiling the ‘so called underdog teams’ to watch out for when the tournament begins in a matter of weeks.
Comoros Islands
The tiny Island nation will make her debut appearance at the AFCON after an impressive qualification round which saw the team finish behind Group G leaders Egypt.
Comoros advanced to the final ahead of Kenya Togo, losing just one game in six matches.
The Coelacanths had opened their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign with a 0–1 win away to Togo, their first away win in a major qualifier. They would go on to qualify for the final tournament, their first major tournament since joining FIFA.
Coach Amir Abdou’s men will be looking to earn a spot in the round of 16 despite being the lowest ranked side in Group C which has Morocco, Ghana and Gabon.
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone became the 24th and last team to qualify to the Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021.
The Leone Stars returned to the continent’s flagship competition for the first time since their second participation in South Africa 1996 after defeating last edition quarter-finalists Benin 1-0 in a rescheduled game that took place at the General Lassana Conte Stadium in Conakry, Guinea.
The Leone Stars finished second in Group L with seven points behind leaders Nigeria (14 points). The Sierra Leoneans proved to be the team to beat at the tournament following their five-star show against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in a two-legged qualifiers.
John Keister’s team had pulled a shock come back from four goals down to hold Nigeria to a frustrating 4-4 draw away from home in the first leg and made sure the Eagles were caged in Freetown as both fixtures ended all squares.
Sierra Leone are in Group E alongside defending Champions Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast.
Cape Verde
The Blue Sharks will open their AFCON campaign in Group A against two-time winners Ethiopia and would look to put their disappointing ouster from the 2022 World Cup play-offs behind them as they aim to be the surprise package in Cameroon.
Cape Verde are also drawn alongside host Cameroon and Burkina Faso as they make a return to the continental show for the first time since missing the last two editions.
Without being unrealistic, Cape Verde will be hoping to do as well as they did in 2013, when they reached the quarterfinals at their AFCON debut.
Reputed giant slayers, Cape Verde have shown the menace they can pose to bigger teams, like Nigeria and Cameroon – tipped among the competition favorites.
In their recent competitive fixtures, the Cape Verdeans shocked the Indomitable Lions 3-1 in an AFCON qualifier in March and narrowly lost a World Cup play-offs spot to Nigeria after finishing two points behind the Super Eagles.
Mali
The Eagles of Mali have a long and historical tradition of participating in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Even though Mali’s participation in the AFCON prior to 21st century was sporadic, they managed a number of notable achievements. In their debut at 1972 Africa Cup of Nations, Mali finished runners-up behind Congo, a great feat up to date.
Mali joined the AFCON 2021 party after topping Group A which had runners-up Guinea, Namibia and Chad. During the qualifiers, the Eagles suffered a single defeat in their quest for qualification and have been paired in Group F alongside 2004 winners Tunisia, Mauritania and Gambia.
As far as AFCON is concerned, the West African nation have often entered into the competition as dark horses, but Mohamed Magassouba’s men can still pull a surprise at the tournament after they progressed to the World Cup play-offs undefeated.
