World Soccer - UK (2022-01)

ALGERIA

Theholderswill gointothe
tournamentonthebackof arun
of 33 unbeatenmatchesatthe
endoftheNovemberWorldCup
qualifiers,notfarofftherecord
thatItalysetinSeptember.
SuccessforAlgeriainEgypt
in 2019 was only theirsecondin
theCupofNations,andtheirfirst
sincewinningonhomesoilin
19 90,butwasachievedin
impressivefashion.
CoachDjamel Belmadihasbuilt
averitable“goldengeneration”for
Algeria, rivallingthesidethatwent
totheWorldCupinSpainin 1982
andbeat West Germany.
Buthewill knowbetterthan
mostthetravailsoftryingto
ensureconsistentsuccessin
Africanfootball,andparticularly
inatournamentwithas many
potentialpitfallsas inCameroon.

KEYPLAYER

Riyad Mahrezhasbeenpartof
Algeria’ssidesincetheeveofthe
2014 WorldCup,justmonths after
hismovetoLeicesterCity, andthe
30-year-oldhasthedistinctionof
havingscoredinthelast three
Cupof Nationstournaments.

THECOACH

The 45 -year-oldDjamel
Belmadi’splayingcareertook
instintsat ParisSaint-Germain,
Marseille,ManchesterCityand
Southampton,andhecaptained
Algeriaatthe 2004 Cupof Nations
finals,takingover as coachin 2018.

EQUATORIALGUINEA

Thetwopreviousparticipationsof

the“NzalangNacional” intheCup

ofNationshavebeenashosts,first

alongwithGabonin 2012 andthen

asanemergency stand-inwhen

Moroccopulledoutin 2015.

Onbothoccasions,theyhave

performedbeyondexpectation,

reachingthequartersin 2012 and

semi-finalsin 2015 , whentheir

lossinMalabotoGhanasetoff a

fierceriotbyfrustratedspectators

thatneededhelicoptersand

armouredvehiclestoquell.

Thistime,theteamhasqualified

throughthepreliminaries,finishing

behindTunisiaintheirgroupbut

edgingoutTanzaniaandLibya.

After yearsofhiringBrazilians,

turningthemintoinstantcitizens

andnationalteamstars,Equatorial

Guineaarenowamorelegitimate

operationwithplayersmainlyfrom

Spain, theformercolonialpower.

KEYPLAYER

EmilioNsuehasbeencaptainsince

hisdebutin 2013 , havingpreviously

playedforSpainatjuniorlevel,and

althoughat 32 hisclubcareer

lookstobeinlimbo,heisstill

EquatorialGuinea’sgo-toman.

THECOACH

JuanMicha, 46,playedfor

EquatorialGuineaandthenwent

toSpaintocoach,returninghome

tofirsttakechargeof thewomen’s

teamandthenvariousagegroup

sidesbeforesigningaone-year

contractlastFebruary.

IVORY COAST

FailuretoadvanceintheWorld

Cupqualifiersputsadamperon

theprospects of “LesElephants”,

whosedecisivegameagainst

CamerooninNovemberwas

playedwithoutwingerWilfried

Zaha,whoallegedlyaskedtobe

excusedfrominternationalduty.

Whilethestorywas thathehad

pickedupavirusonhisprevious

Africantriponemonthearlierand

notyet shakenit off, missingout

onsuchakeygamesuggested

troubleunderthesurface.

TheIvorianswill,however, see

theCupofNations as achance

forredemptionandcertainlyknow

theirwayaroundthetournament.

Thiswill beIvoryCoast’s 24th

appearanceatthefinals–only

Egypthavebeentomore–and

theirninthtournamentinarow.

KEYPLAYER

FranckKessiehasanairof

maturityandexperiencewell

beyondhis 25 yearsanddrives

theIvoriansidefrommidfieldlike

anaturalsuccessortoYayaToure,

whocaptainedLesElephantsto

theCupofNations titlein 2015.

THECOACH

Aged43,PatriceBeaumellewill

beamongtheyoungestcoachesat

thefinalsbut hehasconsiderable

Cupof Nationsexperienceas

assistanttoHerveRenardwhenhe

wonthe 2012 titlewithZambia

andagainin 2015 withIvory Coast,

thejobBeaumelletookin 20 20.

SIERRALEONE

Therewasmuchcontroversyabout

SierraLeone’s qualificationfor the

Cupof Nationsfinals–theirfirst

appearancesince 1 996.

TheCOVIDofficer at their

lastqualifierathometoBenin

• wheretheyhadtowinbuttheir
  visitorsneededonlyavoiddefeat


• declaredthatkeyBeninplayers
  hadfailedtheirPCRtestsandcould
  notplay.Beninthenrefusedto
  taketothefieldinprotest.
  AmidtheCOVID-19testing
  row,whichsawanotherproposed
  clashofthetwonationspostponed,
  thegamewas rescheduledfora
  thirdtimeinJune–andSierra
  Leonewon 1 -0toqualifyfor
  onlythethirdtime.
  Theywillbeexpectedto
  beoneofthefirst casualties
  ofthetournamentinCameroon.

KEYPLAYER

Yayah Kallonbrokethroughin

Genoa’sfirst teamatthestartof

theseasonandkepthisplacein

thesideand,althoughstill only20,

couldprovidethequalitythatthe

LeoneStars need–althoughhis

refugeestatusinItalyneedstobe

sortedfirst beforehecantravel.

THECOACH

Manchester-bornJohnKeister

playedinthelowerreachesof

theFootballLeagueas well as

coachingatnon-leagueMargate.

Hekeptintouchwithhisrootsin

SierraLeonethough,andisnowin

hissecondspell as nationalcoach.

PREVIEW

2021 AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS

GROUP E

Holders...Algeria go

intothetournament

asfavourites

Pointtoprove...

Ivory Coast are

keentomakeup

forfailingtoqualify

fortheWorldCup

Worldclass...

Riyad Mahrez

Returning...

JuanMicha

Midfielddrive...

FranckKessie

Genoa

wonderkid...

Yayah Kallon