World Soccer - UK (2022-01)

CAMEROON

Homeadvantageisalwayshandyin
thesetournaments,althoughthe
lasthoststowinwereEgyptin 2006

• andeventheyneededa penalty
  shootouttoensure success.
  Cameroonhaveplodded
  throughsincetheirsurpriseCup
  ofNationstriumphinGabonin
  2017 , when they were notfancied
  and,truthbetold,rodea wave
  ofsomegoodfortunebefore
  takingthetrophy.
  Thisgenerationis farremoved
  fromtheall-conqueringteamsof
  the 19 80sortheera of Samuel
  Eto’o,whenthey were back-to-
  backwinnersin 2000 and 2002.
  Butthereis thehopetheycan
  buildmomentumandprovidea
  crediblechallengeforthetitle.

KEYPLAYER

EricMaximChoupo-Motinghas
never been consistentinmaking
himselfavailablefor Cameroon
but,with possibleWorldCup
qualificationlooming,the 3 2-year-
oldGerman-bornBayern Munich
forwardhasplayedhispart recently
andhasthetalenttodrivethe
team’sattackandhopes.

THECOACH

ToniConceicao, 60,isa former
Portugalinternationalright-back,
whoreplacedClarenceSeedorf
after thelastCupofNationsfinals.
Hadapatchycareerasa club
coachinmultiplecountriesbut
managedtohangontohisjob
despitesomemediocreform.

BURKINAFASO

A workmanliketeamwho

aredifficulttobeat,asAfrican

championsAlgeriadiscovered in

theWorldCup qualifiers,andwith

a penchantfor creatinganupset.

Itisa lackofresources,

anddepthintheirsquad,that

holdsthembackfromhigher

achievementbuttheirpotential

wasevidencedin 2013 when

theygotallthe waytothe final.

Therearea handfulofsurvivors

fromthatsidewho will be seeking

torepeatthe featinCameroon,

althougha placeintheknockout

stage is likely to be their

immediate ambition.

“LesEtalons” arebackafter

failingtoqualifyfor thelastfinalsin

Egypt in 2 019 whichendeda run

offivesuccessiveappearances.

KEYPLAYER

Aston Villa’sBertrandTraore

hasstruggledwithathighinjury

recently, with concern over the

26-year-oldwinger’sfitnessfor

thetournamentdominatingtheir

preparations;heiskey to their

hopesof a successfulcampaign.

THECOACH

KamouMalohasbeencoach

sincemid-2 019 asBurkinaFaso

turnedawayfroma preference

foremployingEuropeancoaches

andhandedresponsibilitytoone

oftheirown,bankingonthe

58-year-old’s successinwinning

domesticleague titlestohelpthe

fortunesofthe nationalteam.

CAPEVERDE

Oneof thecontinent’ssmallest

nations,with a populationof

around500,000,continueto

punchwellabovetheirweight,

albeitwith most of theirplayers

drawn from thelarge emigrant

communitiesin theNetherlands,

PortugalandtheUSA.

Thisisthethirdtimethey

havequalified,havingreached

thequarter-finalsintheirmaiden

appearancein 2013 , whentheir

coachburstintosongatthe

post-matchpressconference,

andagainin 2015 , whenthey

wenthomeundefeated.

Theyqualifiedforthesefinals

byfinishingunbeaten,beating

Cameroon3-1 in Praiaand

holdingthemtoa goalless

drawawayfromhome.

KEYPLAYER

SpeedywingerRyanMendes,

31,willcaptainthe teamastheir

mostexperiencedandvaluable

player,havingcompetedforthe

CapeVerdeansattheirlasttwo

Cupof Nationsfinalsappearances

followinghisnationalteam

debutbackin 2010.

THECOACH

The 51 -year-oldPedro Leitao

Britoisbetterknownas“Bubista”

andspent14 yearsas a defender

inthe CapeVerde team,serving

ascaptain beforeembarking on

a coachingcareerwith a bevyof

localteamsand thengettingthe

nationalteamjobtwoyearsago.

P R E V IE W

2021 AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS

GROUPA

Hosts...Cameroon

willbeplaying

onhomesoil

CAFfounding

members...

Ethiopia

Leading

theline...

Choupo-

Moting

Seekingupsets...

BurkinaFaso

Overachieving...

coachBubista

Skipper...

striker

Getaneh

Kebede

ETHIOPIA

One of CAF’sfoundermembers,

andformerwinners,butlongpast

theirglorydaysdespitea burgeoning

leagueand a largepopulation.

Athleticsmightbring Ethiopia

Olympicmedalsandinternational

recognitionbutitisa passionate

footballingcountry, frequentlyleft

disappointedbythe failingsof

theirnationalteam.

Theywona keygameinthe

qualifiersagainstfellowcontenders

Madagascartosnatchsecondplace

intheirgroup,behindIvoryCoast,

andreturntothe finalsforonly

thesecondtimein 21 editions.

Butin therecentWorldCup

qualifierstheymanagedonlya

singlevictoryinsix gamesand

willnothaveany loftyambitions

inCameroon.

KEYPLAYER

The 29 -year-oldcaptainGetaneh

Kebede, backhomeafteraspell

inSouthAfrica,hasoften proved

somethingofa one-manshow,

producingmatch-winningdisplays

forhiscountry, whilealsoensuring

theyplayaneye-pleasingbrand

ofattackingfootball whenthings

aregoingtheirway.

THECOACH

Wubetu Abatehashada long

careercoachingclubsinEthiopia

andwinningtheleaguetitle,and

hada spellacrossthe borderin

Sudan,before beingappointed

nationalteamcoachinSeptember

2020 ona two-yearcontract.