terzurum5:
AF South Africa 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers
AFCON qualifiers: what we've learned

Hervé Renard

by Bertin Basson

With four rounds of 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers now a thing of the past, we take a look at five things we've learned.


With only two rounds of fixtures remaining, only Morocco have booked their place (alongside hosts Gabon) at next year's tournament.


Africa's number one ranked side - Cape Verde - are in danger of missing the tournament following successive defeats to the Atlas Lions.


Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania have been the qualifiers' surprise package, with both West African nations in with a chance of reaching next year's showpiece, while Liberia are also two wins away from securing their place at next year's finals.


Djibouti are the only team yet to win a point, having conceded 16 goals in four successive defeats, while Senegal and Morocco are the only two teams with an unblemished record.


Here are five things we've learned:
Nigeria, South Africa talk a big game, but can't match it on the field


Both Nigeria and South Africa fans are guilty of overselling the quality of their national teams - both are quick to ridicule when things go wrong and are even quicker to talk up their team's chances if things go right.


Fact of the matter is, neither are much good at the moment and neither will be at next year's AFCON.


To be quite honest, though, it is bit unfair to paint the Super Eagles with the same brush. The 2013 AFCON champions have now failed to qualify for successive tournaments, but with stars like Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho bursting onto the scene, Nigeria won't be down in the dumps for too long.


As for Bafana Bafana, having finished first, second in third at successive AFCONs between 1996 and 2000, the one-time AFCON champs are set to miss another tournament. Fact of the matter is, South Africa are nothing close to the team they were in the 90s.


Algeria will be favourites to win 2017 AFCON
Free-scoring Algeria will be the favourites to win the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.


Boasting supreme talent all over the pitch - Riyad Mahrez, Yacine Brahimi, Sofiane Feghouli, El Arbi Hillel Soudani, Islam Slimain, Nabil Bentaleb, Saphir Taïder, Faouzi Ghoulam to name but a few - Algeria's golden generation will be desperate to win their first title since 1990.


If all things go their way, the Fennecs should dethrone an Ivory Coast side who have failed to impress during qualifying.


Travelling in Africa: not as frighting as it used to be
This is a notion that can be stretched back to the 2015 AFCON qualifiers, with South Africa winning in both Sudan and Congo, while pressing Nigeria very close in Uyo, on their way to booking a ticket to Equatorial Guinea.


Congo also won in Nigeria during the same qualifying campaign.
While teams are still favoured on home soil, wins away from home have become a more frequent occurrence, with Namibia grabbing a memorable 3-1 win in Burundi, only for the Swallows to return the favour in Windhoek a few days later.


Hervé Renard is still the man
Having failed at French Ligue 1 club Lille, Hervé Renard returned to African football once again, this time with 1976 winners Morocco, in February of this year.


The French-born mentor has already made his mark with successive wins over Cape Verde sealing their place at next year's tournament.


Renard, 47, has already won the AFCON tournament on two occasions, leading an unfancied Zambian side to glory in 2012 before winning the title with an under achieving Ivory Coast team last year.


With stars like Younès Belhanda, Mehdi Benatia and Youssef El-Arabi, Morocco will stand an outside chance in Gabon.


Egypt still a force in Africa
One of the greatest mysteries in world football, over the past decade, has been Egypt's failure to qualify for a World Cup tournament despite winning three successive AFCON titles between 2006 and 2010.


The Pharaohs last qualified for the world showpiece in 1990 - only the second time they had reached the World Cup following their appearance at the 1934 tournament (also indecently hosted by Italy).


Egyptian clubs have dominated African football for as long as I can remember and their national team dominated African football during the 2000s, winning five titles between 1986 and 2010 to reach a total of seven AFCON titles.


But Egypt failed to qualify for three successive tournaments after their victory in Angola six years ago, with many of their stalwarts calling it a day during this period: Ahmed Hassan, Wael Gomaa and Mohamed Aboutrika among others.


Spearheaded by the likes of Mohamed Salah, Mohamed El Nenny and 18-year-old Ramadan Sobhy, Egypt are on the up once again.
africanfootball.com/news/622631/AFCON-qualifiers-what-we-ve-learned

terzurum5:
EXCLUSIVE: MIKEL COULD QUIT SUPER EAGLES

Captain of the Super Eagles John Obi Mikel could choose to quit the team following their latest failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nation according to a close confidant of the player.


Nigeria have now fail to qualify for three of the last four cup of nations and for the first time failed to qualify for back to back AFCON after losing 1-0 to Egypt yesterday in Alexandria.


The frustration alongside other off the pitch issues is troubling the Chelsea man who might call it quit with international football if the situation persist.


Mikel appointed captain of the Super Eagles shortly before the games against Egypt is frustrated by the unending drama of the team the last two years and could quit to focus on his club career.


“He is very disturbed about the constant upheaval in the team, changing of coaches and playing personel, the stress of traveling non stop for one year for a lot cause is getting to him” a source told owngoalnigeria.com.


“He is a father now and that is making him think twice about international football as the breaks will give him time to be with his children for sometime, he badly needs time to be with his kids”.
owngoalnigeria.com/2016/03/30/exclusive-mikel-could-quit-super-eagles/

terzurum5:
AF Nigeria 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers Egypt
Aaron Samuel, Adi not match fit - official

Eagles striker Aaron Samuel

CSKA Moscow striker Aaron Samuel and Fenando Adi from MLS side Portland Timbers were not listed for both AFCON qualifiers against Egypt because they were far from match fit, officials informed AfricanFootball.com


It was understood that coach Samson Siasia stuck with Watford striker Odion Ighalo for both games against Egypt because Samuel and Adi could not prove their fitness in training.


“Both players were not match-fit after Siasia tested their endurance with some exercises in training. That was why he could not name any of them even on the substitutes’ bench,” a source close to the Super Eagles revealed.


"They just couldn't cope with the training."
Samuel was making a comeback to the national team after he was overlooked by former coach Sunday Oliseh, while MLS champion Adi was set for his international debut.
africanfootball.com/news/622676/Aaron-Samuel-Adi-not-match-fit-official

forgiveness:



So, who should be blamed?

I don talk am before but some people no go gree. In that critical situation, Siasia needed his boys to cross the ball into the box for a striker to nod the ball into the net but unfortunately he didn't have a tall striker to do that.

If we saw how Bayern Munich was able to come back against a team known for defending (Juventus) then we will understand what i mean. All they did was to cross the ball into the box and the rest is history.

The only Nigerian striker good at that is Anthony Ujah but they ignored a player scoring goals in one of the best league in the world for Chinese product. Forgetting that Chinese product no dey last.

robosky02:
then bring on egypt let's settle the scores once and for all

TheGoodJoe:


We needed creative play and not crosses. The Egyptians are known from history as a good sides in crosses. No do you expect to beat a master at his own games.

By the way, from my memory, the last two goals of Bayern were not nodded in. That Thiago Alcantara's goal and Conman's goal.

We needed creative play to break the defensive wall of Egypt. The introduction of Iwobi gave a hint of how different the game would have been with creative players in front of the wall.

A direct approach was not the way to go.

forgiveness:


Bros, try confirm things before you come here na.

Are the Egyptians better than Juventus at defending crosses?

Which match you watch last wey Tiago scored goal for Champions League?


You said we needed creative play, who d creative play don help for that match? The Egyptians were afraid of us making crosses from the flanks.

That's is what i call one way traffic. We needed creative play and crosses at the same time.

See yourself


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kCP88Ow0kE&itct=CBQQpDAYBCITCN76ivnA6ssCFYXCHAodCw8GzDIHcmVsYXRlZEjbjryooojVmd8B

forgiveness:


Bros, try confirm things before you come here na.

Are the Egyptians better than Juventus at defending crosses?

Which match you watch last wey Tiago scored goal for Champions League?


You said we needed creative play, who d creative play don help for that match? The Egyptians were afraid of us making crosses from the flanks.

That's is what i call one way traffic. We needed creative play and crosses at the same time.

See yourself


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kCP88Ow0kE&itct=CBQQpDAYBCITCN76ivnA6ssCFYXCHAodCw8GzDIHcmVsYXRlZEjbjryooojVmd8B

forgiveness:


Are the Egyptians better than Juventus at defending crosses?

TheGoodJoe:



Substitutes Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman scored extra-time goals as Bayern roared back to beat Juve 4-2 in their last-16, second-leg tie and seal a 6-4 aggregate victory.

https://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/sports/news/bayerns-four-goal-champions-league-fight-back-wows-014811893--sow.html?orig_host_hdr=sports.yahoo.com&.intl=us&.lang=en-US

forgiveness:



Sorry, I have modified it.

TheGoodJoe:


Crosses were not going to work. From Kaduna to Alexandria, the Egyptians beat us in aerial battles. The only time we got to them in both games were through clever interchanging passes.

That was why we looked better when Iwobi came on. We needed to beat them through passes. Sending the ball up was a mistakes. Crosses won't work.

forgiveness:


You said Juventus didn't score the two first goals with the head but the video said otherwise.

Have you confirmed it?

TheGoodJoe:


Where do you derive statements like this? We are talking Nigeria Vs Egypt and your saying Juventus. Are our Wingers good at crossing like Bayern Munich players? Is it Abdullahi you want to cross like Lahm? Or Musa to cross like Robben.

forgiveness:


So, you mean Moses and Simon can't provide crosses even Ezekiel Imoh can do that. The point is Siasia did not have a game plan hence bad selection of players.

Anthony Ujah would have changed the game.

We need quality players in the National team. Moses Odubanjo would have done better than Shehu Abdullahi.

TheGoodJoe:



If we saw how Bayern Munich was able to come back against a team known for defending (Juventus) then we will understand what i mean.

That is what you said and this was my reply.

By the way, from my memory, the last two goals of Bayern were not nodded in. That Thiago Alcantara's goal and Conman's goal.

Now you are saying this.


You said Juventus didn't score the two first goals with the head but the video said otherwise

Where did I say Juventus did not score with their heads?

forgiveness:


If we saw how Bayern Munich was able to come back against a team known for defending (Juventus) then we will understand what i mean

Where in that post did i mention last two goals?

How is that too difficult to dechiper?

Bros, you wan play politics?

TheGoodJoe:


Now you are taking us back. We are talking after the match at Kaduna, a direct approach was not the right way. Talking of Imoh and Odubanjo is not the debate. With the squad, we had enough ammunition on ground to win the game.
Crosses won't work and there was not enough time to screen and scout. Remember it is a new coach.

If we played with our most creative forward and used brilliant passes, we would have won the game.

TheGoodJoe:


You said we should have used crosses. If we saw Bayern Munich's comeback[color=#000099] we would see what you mean.

So you mean you can not decipher your own statement.[/color]

forgiveness:


If we saw how Bayern Munich was able to come back against a team known for defending (Juventus) then we will understand what i mean

Where in that post did i mention last two goals?

How is that too difficult to dechiper?

Bros, you wan play politics?

forgiveness:


Building a house on sinking sand is the problem hence the need to revisit the cause of our disaster. And we can see, Siasia bad selection was the major factor behind our failure