Amos Annan
It was another round of shocks in the Nations Cup qualifiers, with a number of Africa’s big teams struggling to beat the so-called smaller sides, and some even crumbling to defeats at the hands of these countries. What this says is that African football is developing, especially in the case of the least favoured teams who are staking their claim for an appearance at the competition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in 2012.
Undoubtedly, the most eye-catching of these shocks was the 1-0 away loss by the defending champions Egypt against Niger. The Pharaohs’ being unable to answer to the 33rd minute winner leaves them surprisingly bottom of the group, as South Africa top the group with a less than impressive goalless draw away at Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone, however, will take some encouragement from the draw, though they could have capitalised on home advantage to build on their previous point in Egypt.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria were also sent crashing down to earth as they succumbed to a 1-0 loss away to Guinea in Conakry. No doubt, the absence of a number of key players for the match, and uncertainty in off the field incidents about the suspension of the Nigerian Football Federation by FIFA contributed to their lacklustre display. Guinea thus top the group after amassing maximum points from their two games, while Ethiopia are placed third after earning a valuable away victory at pointless Madagascar.
Algeria were the next big shot to suffer defeat – 2-0 against unlikely group leaders Central African Republic who were winning only their second African Cup of Nations qualifier. In the same group, Morocco put their qualifiers back on track with an important lone goal victory away at Tanzania. Mali also looked to set their qualifiers back in the right direction with a 2-1 home victory against Liberia. Elsewhere, the other surprise group leaders Cape Verde continued in their impressive start to the qualifiers by earning a point in a goalless draw away at Zimbabwe.
Then there were the Black Stars of Ghana, whom everyone thought would brush away Sudan at home in Kumasi by a few clear goals at least, following their away thrashing of Swaziland in the last fixture. The Sudanese, however, held firm (0-0) and earned a point to remain level with group leaders Ghana. Influential striker Asamoah Gyan was also sent off for a shove, mirroring the frustration of the team. Swaziland lost their second in as many games as Congo beat them 3-1 at home to record their first points of the qualifiers.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, however, Senegal put seven unanswered goals past Mauritius at home to take pole position in their group, as Cameroon could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to DR Congo and as such are off the pace in second. The Elephants of Ivory Coast also followed suit with a key 1-0 win away at Burundi. In that same group, Rwanda suffered another humiliating 3-0 defeat, this time at home to Benin, who now occupy second spot.
The highest-scoring match saw Malawi win 6-2 in an eight-goal thriller on home soil to resurrect their hopes of a finals appearance. Tunisia, though, moved up to second with an important victory of their own, leaving it late to score a winner in the 2-1 away win in Togo. Group leaders Botswana did not play, but have a crunch encounter at home against Tunisia in November while Togo also take on Chad at home.
Angola were the other team to get their qualifying campaign back on track with a 1-0 victory at home to Guinea Bissau. Kenya, however, managed to hold table-toppers Uganda to a goalless draw at home. In perhaps the group with the most equal teams in terms of pedigree, Libya stunned Zambia by a lone goal at home in Tripoli to share top spot with Mozambique, who pipped first-timers Comoros by a single goal away. Also, the only group with just three teams saw Burkina Faso give Gambia a taste of their own medicine, beating them convincingly in a 3-1 win. The last fixture in the group had seen Gambia beat the other member of the group, Namibia by the same scoreline. Burkina Faso and Gambia are thus joint top of the group.
The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers have proven to be unpredictable so far with top sides finding it increasingly difficult to triumph over their less-fancied counterparts. Chief among these is Egypt, who are really struggling to live up to their status as defending champions. Algeria also find themselves in a similar predicament after failing to win since the World Cup. Others like Ghana and Nigeria may only be suffering hiccups in their qualifying campaign, and will, most likely, hope to pick up form in subsequent matches.
The likes of South Africa, Senegal and Ivory Coast, though, seem to be coasting along, but with the current trend, it is advisable not to write off any team yet. Hence, come March 2011 when the next batch of qualifiers are scheduled to be played, it is only safe to expect nothing but more drama.
