Ready to roll

It’s finally here. The battle lines have been drawn as the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) rolls out tonight with hosts Ivory Coast facing Guinea Bissau in the curtain-raiser in Abidjan.

The Elephants are favourites against a side that has  never won an Afcon game in three previous tournaments.

But Ivory Coast coach Jean-Louis Gasset is wary of complacency against opponents with nothing to lose in front of 60,000 fans in Abidjan.

He was quoted by cafonline.com as having said: “We cannot underestimate Guinea-Bissau. In these type of opening games, there is always a risk the underdog is fired up to cause an upset.”

On the other hand, Guinea Bissau coach Baciro Cande was quoted as having said: “We know we can create a sensation against the hosts.”

The last time the Ivorians hosted Africa’s biggest festival in 1984, the Flames were part of the then 12-team showpiece, their first-ever appearance at the continental competition, but this time around, they have been reduced to arm-chair viewers.

Malawi qualified for the previous edition in Cameroon where they qualified for the knockout stages and South Africa-based forward Gabadinho Mhango stood out by emerging the third leading scorer with three goals.

His beauty against the Atlas Lions of Morocco, roughly 45-yards out,  was dubbed the goal of the tournament and was nominated for 2022 Africa Goal of the Year.

In an interview yesterday, the Moroka Swallows striker admitted that it pains not to be part of the African safari.

Said the 31-year-old: “It just doesn’t feel good, and take it from me, it is a painful experience not to be there.

“But based on our performance in the qualifiers, honestly we did not deserve to be there. We could have done better.

“It’s sad that after making the best 16 at the previous event, this time we are not good enough to be among the 24 teams that have qualified. It should give us food for thought.”

To add salt to injury, all the three neighbouring countries Mozambique’s Mambas, Tanzania’s Taifa Stars and Zambia’s Chipolopolo are part of the month-long fiesta.

Football analyst, Kevin Moyo, observed that when it comes to Afcon, Malawi’s  biggest challenge  has been in consistency.

He said: “We only  have three qualifications and a last 16 qualification as our major  achievement.

“Going forward, we should do serious investment in grassroots and youth football, targeting the next five years as a benchmark to be competitive.

“Otherwise if we continue targeting major tournaments in our current state it will take us ages to become   competitive.

Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, Namibia’s Brave Warriors and the Palancas Negras of Angola are the teams that have qualified from the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) bloc.

Mozambique will set the pace for Cosafa teams when they face record seven-time winners Egypt’s Pharaohs tomorrow  in Group B, while holders Senegal begin the defence of their title against The Gambia in Group C on Monday.

The 24 teams have been split into six groups of four teams, with the hosts in Group A alongside three-time champions Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

Zambia and East Africa’s sole representatives Tanzania in Group F.

Some of the big-name players expected to light up the event are Egypt and Liverpool marksman Mohammed Salah, reigning African Footballer of the Year Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, Senegal’s Sadio Mane, Cameroon’s veteran forward Vincent Aboubaker and goalkeeper Andre Onana.