July 12, 2012 by Steven
An abandoned goal in Senegal
Last week the draw for the final round of games in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2013 was made in Johannesburg. Fifteen two legged ties will take place in September & October this year, the winners of these ties will join join hosts South Africa in January to fight it out to become kings of Africa.
The tie that stands out for many in this final AFCON qualifying round is the heavyweight clash between Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. It’s a game that’s importance is framed by which players Newcastle United will be without during January. The Magpies will lose their Senegalese front pairing of Demba Pa and Papiss Cissé or their Ivorian midfielder Cheik Tioté for the duration of the AFCON. However, putting Alan Pardew’s feelings to one side for the moment (and we should always do this when talking football I think) this is an incredibly important game for both countries as they will feel that they have unfinished business from the last Cup of Nations.
Côte d’Ivoire were losing finalists to Zambia in 2012 despite their undoubted star quality, the Ivorians will need the likes of Yaya Toure and Gervinho to perform if they want another crack at the AFCON crown. The Ivorian FA may also have to shell out on a long-haul flight from Shanghai to Abidjan for Didier Drogba if they wish to overcome the Senegalese. Despite Drogba enjoying a semi-retirement in the Chinese Super League. the Champions League winner will surely have the desire to win his first AFCON. For the 34 year-old the 2013 edition will almost certainly be his last chance.
The Lions of Teranga have a different score to settle. They were almost certainly the most disappointing of all nations in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea. For all the pre-tournament hype of their red hot front-line, the team failed to knit together as a coherent unit and finished bottom of their group after losing every game. It was this poor performance that ultimately saw Senegal placed in the second set of seeds, leading to a tie against one of the continent’s heavyweights Côte d’Ivoire, they’ll have to overcome them if they want to prove to Africa that their appalling AFCON performance in January was a one-off.
Senegal have recently appointed Joseph Koto as their new full-time coach. He’ll have the unenviable task of attempting to accommodate the attacking talents of Demba Ba, Pappis Cisse, Moussa Sow and Mamadou Niang without leaving gaps at the back. If defeating Côte d’Ivoire is beyond the Lions of Teranga then the next job for Koto will be to qualify for World Cup in Brazil. Senegal currently lead their group and will be confident of seeing off the threat from Uganda, Angola and Liberia to reach the second stage.
Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/juanfalque
| Tags: Africa Cup of Nations, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal
