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What to expect from biggest ever Africa Cup of Nations tournament

30, May 2019

What to expect from biggest ever Africa Cup of Nations tournament 0

The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, popularly known as Afcon, is the biennial championship in which Africa’s top men’s teams compete for the gold-plated African Nation Cup trophy. The winner will hoist that trophy after the final on Friday 19 July at the Cairo International Stadium.

This tournament, organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), will be the 32nd edition of the competition and the first in which the format has been expanded from 16 to 24 teams. All 24 teams have now confirmed their places.

According to a recent report by Nielsen Sports, Africa is one of the most engaged football markets globally. It matches even regions like Europe and South America. This supports the CAF’s decision to increase the competitiveness of the tournament.

Key things you need to know

Current title holders Cameroon were stripped of hosting rights last year due to delays with preparations and security concerns. Egypt was then selected as the host nation.

The timing of the competition is good news for fans of European teams. For the first time in the tournament’s history it’s being held during the European summer. This means African players who play for European clubs such as Liverpool’s Sadio Mané (Senegal) and Mohamed Salah (Egypt), or Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez (Algeria) will not be withdrawn from club duty mid-season to participate in the tournament.

The 24 qualifying teams have been drawn into six groups of four teams each:

  • Group A: DR Congo – Egypt – Uganda – Zimbabwe
  • Group B: Burundi – Guinea – Madagascar – Nigeria
  • Group C: Algeria – Kenya – Senegal – Tanzania
  • Group D: Ivory Coast – Morocco – Namibia – South Africa
  • Group E: Angola – Mali – Mauritania – Tunisia
  • Group F: Benin – Cameroon – Ghana – Guinea Bissau.

The teams in each group will play in a single round robin format. After the group stage, the top two teams and the four best third teams will advance to the round of 16. The winners will advance to the quarterfinals stage, and from then on, progress to the semifinals. The semifinal losers will contest a third-place match, while semifinal winners will advance to the final.

The full schedule of fixtures can be found on the CAF website.

Egypt is being tipped as the tournament favourite going into the competition. They have been champions of Africa more times than any other nation, and have lost only twice in their last 25 home games against African opponents. And of course they have the prolific goal-scoring machine, Mohamed Salah, who is rated as being one of the best players in the world, both on club level for Liverpool and for Egypt.

Top 10 facts

  1. Only three countries (Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia) took part in the first tournament in February 1957 and there was no qualifying competition. Egypt won.
    1. 2019 will be the first time the tournament features 24 teams, after CAF decided to expand the tournament to enhance competitiveness.
  2. Egypt will be hosts for a record fifth time. They previously staged the Cup of Nations in 1959, 1974, 1986 and 2006, winning three of those four tournaments and finishing third in the other.
  3. Egypt has been the most successful nation, with seven titles, followed by Cameroon (five), Ghana (four), Nigeria (three) and the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Ivory Coast (two each).
  4. Madagascar, Burundi and Mauritania will be making their debuts at the tournament in 2019. Madagascar was a surprise qualifier and was among the first to qualify in October 2018, while Mauritania secured their ticket a month later with a game still to play. Burundi was definitely the biggest surprise. It currently occupies 138th spot out of 211 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. Twelve teams are yet to qualify for Africa’s biggest football tournament, including the Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Gambia, Lesotho, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Somalia and South Sudan.
  5. Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o is the leading overall Cup of Nations scorer, notching 18 goals in six tournaments between 2000 and 2010.
  6. Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary became the oldest player at 44 years and 21 days to feature in the tournament when he faced Cameroon in the 2017 final in Libreville.
  7. Shiva N’zigou of Gabon is the youngest player to feature and score at the tournament. He was 16 years and 93 days old when he played at Afcon in 2000, scoring for his team in a 1-3 defeat against South Africa.
  8. The tournament has been switched to being held in odd-numbered years so as not to clash with the FIFA World Cup. Afcon will also, for the first time, be held mid-year, away from the traditional January – February window. This will alleviate the club-versus-country battles that have marred previous editions.
  9. Three different trophies have been awarded during the tournament’s history. This is the third trophy, with the first and second awarded to Ghana and Cameroon in 1978 and 1984 respectively. Both won the trophy three times and therefore earned the right to keep it.

The current trophy was first awarded in 2002, and Egypt won it indefinitely after completing their historic treble of titles in 2010. Unlike Ghana and Cameroon, Egypt were presented with a replica, albeit a special full size one that they were allowed to keep.

Source: enca.com

Bayern Munich’s Neuer Says Onana deserved to be in Champions League final with Ajax

26, May 2019

Bayern Munich’s Neuer Says Onana deserved to be in Champions League final with Ajax 0

The German goalkeeper has commended the Cameroon international for his fine displays for the Sons of Gods this term

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has praised Ajax’s Andre Onana for his impressive displays between the sticks this season.

Onana helped Erik ten Hag’s side complete a domestic double of the Dutch Cup and Eredivisie triumph this campaign.

Unfortunately, the Cameroonian goalkeeper was unable to save the Sons of Gods from a disappointing 3-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the return leg of the Uefa Champions League semi-final fixture.

Ajax bowed out of the tournament based on the away goals rule after settling for a 3-3 aggregate score.

“Hey Onana, it is Neuer from Munich. I’m your biggest fan, of course, you played a very good season for Ajax,” Neuer said in a Twitter video.

“You and your guys deserved to be in the finals so don’t be too sad maybe you will get any chance in the future to come back to the semi-final final and have a better result than the last one.

“Take care and enjoy the celebration with Ajax for the Cup and for the championship in your league. You did a great a job and all the best in the future, my friend.”

Source: Goal.com

Cameroonian girls defy prejudice to pursue soccer dreams

23, May 2019

Cameroonian girls defy prejudice to pursue soccer dreams 0

When Gaelle Asheri first started playing soccer in the dirt streets near her home in Cameroon’s capital, she was the only girl on the informal neighbourhood teams which used stones for goal posts and kept score by chalking results on a wall.

Asheri, 17, and her teammate Ida Pouadjeu, 16, are now among the first wave of girls being trained by professional coaches at the Rails Foot Academy (RFA) in Yaounde. It was set up in January to foster female soccer talent in a country where many still see the sport as a man’s game.

“I used to train with boys, so with boys there were some exercises I was not allowed to do because I am a girl,” Asheri said, describing how she was seen as more fragile than her male counterparts.

“But reaching here it was just another world, I was forced to do abdominal exercises, forced to do all harsh work so you reach a level where tears usually come out with sweat.”

The academy gets its name from the train tracks that hem the playing ground and turn into informal stands for the local spectators, who gather to watch the girls’ teams play all-male sides.

Global interest in women’s soccer is growing and FIFA hopes over a billion viewers will tune in to watch the Women’s World Cup in June. Cameroon’s national side, known as the Indomitable Lionesses, was one of three African teams to qualify.

Its star player, Gaelle Enganamouit, was the brains behind RFA – the West African country’s first female soccer academy. Her own experience as a young player in Yaounde showed her that it was important for women to have their own space to train, she told FIFA in January.

The academy currently trains around 70 girls, most of whom come from poor backgrounds and would otherwise not be able to afford even their own soccer boots, said coach Emmanuel Biolo.

“Here they have everything: coaches, jerseys, training equipment, a physiotherapist, and the guidance we give them all the time. Gaelle Enganamouit really wants these kids to be the next generation,” he said.

Asheri attends the academy on Saturday mornings and after school on Wednesdays, changing out of her uniform – a belted blue knee-length dress – into her team’s matching kit.

She is studying for her final baccalaureate exams, but the dream for her and Pouadjeu is to play soccer at a professional level like their benefactor.

“I’ve seen Gaelle (Enganamouit) play on TV. I’ve never missed one of her matches. She plays so well, I want to be like her,” Pouadjeu said.

Both girls initially faced opposition from family members who were worried that the sport was unfeminine. But neither have been deterred by such prejudice.

“I picked up the ball, I kicked it and I never looked back,” Asheri said, recalling the childhood street soccer games with her male cousins and neighbours. (Writing by Alessandra Prentice Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

Source: The Thomson Reuters Trust

Seedorf: I want to leave a legacy in Cameroon

20, May 2019

Seedorf: I want to leave a legacy in Cameroon 0

Having shone on many of the top stages in world football as a player, Clarence Seedorf now stands before his biggest challenge to date as a coach.

After taking the reins at Cameroon in August 2018, he is now sizing up a trip to the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2019 with the Indomitable Lions – who will arrive as reigning champions.

But the road already hasn’t been a simple one. Absent from the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, Cameroon were anticipating hosting the continental tournament this June. However, after it was deemed necessary to postpone their hosting for two years in November, handing Egypt the reins, it meant Seedorf was left with one crucial game to secure their spot in the finals. A 3-0 triumph over Comoros secured it.

FIFA.com spoke with him on his first nine months at the helm, getting to know Africa and the improving fortunes of former club Ajax and the Dutch national team.

FIFA.com: Clarence, this is your first international coaching role so how do you reflect on your first nine months in charge?

Clarence Seedorf: It was definitely an electric ending to qualifying with all the changes at the last minute. We had to win against Comoros, but it also confirmed the work we’d done up until that moment had been really productive. Ending up with the same points as Morocco, who are one of the favourites to win the AFCON, with only two goals difference says a lot about how we performed and prepared for the other games.

The change of host put you in a uniquely challenging position. Did you need to go through a process of refocusing the team for that final game?

I told my players from day one that I wanted to be first in the group. They knew that every match was serious, every training session was serious and every day was a chance to be their best. It’s a mentality that we’ve been able to create over those months and the last two performances against Brazil and Comoros are an acknowledgement that this team had the right mentality and were ready both technically and tactically to perform.

Having been linked with the likes of the Real Madrid job, the Cameroon role presents something of a different direction. How have you taken to leading the African champions?

Obviously, it’s always an honour to be linked with teams like Real Madrid, but it was a great challenge to get this team ready in just a few days, when normally you’d have a whole pre-season with them, and was actually a very exciting process. Cameroon are historically one of the best teams in Africa and missing out on the finals in Russia was a big disappointment for them. As a result it’s been like starting all over again, rebuilding the team and rebuilding the respect on an international level, which I think we’ve achieved with some great performances.

With a whole host of AFCON front-runners keen to leave with gold, do you think Cameroon have what it takes to retain the title?

Cameroon always has it. We’re in good shape and things are positive but then we need to translate this into matches. No one is going to have an easy day playing against Cameroon in Egypt.

Having played and coached around the world, how have you taken to coaching in Africa?

Similarly to Brazil, there’s a lot of focus on the players, they mean so much to the people in the country. They’re really their idols, their role models and the country stops for the match. But football is a universal language and it comes down to the same things wherever you go.

You’ve taken in the likes of well-known football nations like Morocco and Cameroon, but also smaller ones such as Malawi and Comoros. How has it been discovering those new football cultures?

Besides the experiences of culture, I’m finally able to see Africa, feel Africa and live Africa. There are still lots of problems here but the potential, the talent and the energy is fantastic. It’s wonderful to be able to get into those countries and it’s a privilege to be able to travel around Africa and work there.

© imago

You’re doing all that alongside Patrick Kluivert, who you have a footballing connection going back 25 years with. How has that translated to the bench?

We’ve discovered that we’re a really strong duo. We understand each other, we complete each other, it really is the match we hoped it would be. It really is fantastic working with Patrick and we’re looking forward to maybe a lasting relationship and maybe we will be able to have an even bigger impact in Africa and then in Europe some time.

It was a relationship that started at Ajax, who enjoyed their greatest run in Europe since you both were at the club. How has it been seeing them rediscover that European pedigree?

It’s good for football that other clubs and new players are knocking on the door. Of course the DNA of the club and the history always counts: Liverpool, Ajax already have four and five Champions League medals. Ajax has a good mix of both young and experienced players; that combination enables the young players to perform. We had an Ajax side showing the Amsterdam flavour again and I love it.

And with this young talent feeding into the Dutch national team. How are you feeling about the side’s recent revival?

I think a lot has to do with the coaching in general: can you create the right conditions for the players to excel, can you build a cohesion that will translate into a match, can you keep the guys competitive but also still supportive of each other? I feel like these elements have been brought back by Ronald Koeman, who has been doing a great job. Everything seems to be fitting together and I hope this is a lasting movement with Ajax and the Dutch team. Let’s see what it holds for the coming years.

Was it a surprise that there was quite such a dip over the last few years, after finishing second and third at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups?

You need to have a plan and coaches who push you in a certain direction. I think that wasn’t the case a few years ago. Sometimes results can blind you and we didn’t really see the state of things. I think Louis van Gaal did an amazing job (in 2014) with a team that probably wasn’t expected to go all the way to where they went.

The team you featured in at France 1998 was a sensational side, with many of your fellow Ajax graduates alongside you. Do you look back on that tournament as a missed opportunity at all?

Until now, Dutch mentality has been more about playing well instead of winning. That’s something I have always criticised because it needs to be improved. One thing I like about this Ajax side is that, when they are in difficulty, they don’t try to keep looking nice. The ball can go straight out of the stadium or up front, so they can also be more practical.

Everyone wants to play attractive football but Italy have won four World Cups and Holland none, so where lies the truth? What is your choice in terms of the type of mentality you have? Obviously, identities shouldn’t be changed – you should play good football and look to perform within your philosophy, but your adversary won’t always let you perform the way you would like. What do you do then? That’s where potential growth lies for the Dutch.

Source: FIFA.Com

Man Utd ‘rejected in bid for Ajax’s £35m-rated keeper Andre Onana’

19, May 2019

Man Utd ‘rejected in bid for Ajax’s £35m-rated keeper Andre Onana’ 0

MANCHESTER UNITED have failed in a bid for Ajax keeper Andre Onana, it has been claimed.

United are said to have seen an offer of £35million knocked back by the Dutch giants for the Cameroon international.

Manchester United have seen a bid for Ajax keeper Andre Onana rejected amid doubts over the future of David De Gea
Manchester United have seen a bid for Ajax keeper Andre Onana rejected amid doubts over the future of David De Gea

The Daily Record claims the Old Trafford club made their move amid ongoing concerns over the future of David De Gea at the club.

And it remains to be seen if they will return with an improved bid as the major overhaul at United starts to begin kicking into gear.

Onana, 25,  has been an impressive performer for club and country over the past few years, leading to him catching the eye of Red Devils scouts.

But the fact the club have gone as far as making an offer suggests there is huge doubt over the long-term prospects for De Gea.

The Spanish international is about to enter the final year of his existing deal with the club who are desperate for him to commit his future there.

STALLED

But talks over a new £350,000-a-week deal have stalled in recent months, at the same time De Gea lost his form and made a series of high-profile mistakes.

There were even calls for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to drop the 28-year-old as his errors played a part in the exit from the Champions League and then the fall down to sixth in the Premier League.

United only qualifying for the Europa League next season, and Solskjaer admitting the club need a miracle to be challenging for the title next year, will also have been noted by De Gea who wants to be playing at the top level now he is in the peak years of his career.

Paris Saint-Germain have been monitoring his progress closely and United know they face a decision over whether to sell him this summer while they can still command a fee of risk losing him on a free transfer in 12 months.

Onana is regarded as a top class keeper who has been watched by a number of sides across Europe, and crucially he is still relatively young and has plenty of his best years ahead of him.

That means he fits the mould of the type of player Solskjaer and the United board want to sign as they try to build a new-look side of young players with promise.

Source: The Sun UK

Soccer star Ronaldo donates $1.5mn to Palestinians for Ramadan

18, May 2019

Soccer star Ronaldo donates $1.5mn to Palestinians for Ramadan 0

Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has donated $1.5 million to the Palestinians in a move to alleviate the suffering of people in the besieged Gaza Strip.

He allocated the fund to the Palestinians during the holy month of Ramadan.

The soccer player has, in several occasions, denounced Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinians.

Back in 2012, Ronaldo had auctioned off his Golden Boot, the prestigious award given to the best European strikers of the season, to raise funds that were later donated to the Palestinian children.

The following year, in March 2013, at the end of the match between Portugal and Israel for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Ronaldo refused to exchange his shirt with an Israeli player.

The Gaza Strip has been under Israeli land, air and sea blockade since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

Palestinians have held weekly rallies along the Gaza border to protest the siege on the enclave and demand the right for refugees to return to their homes they fled during the 1948 creation of Israel.

More than 270 Palestinians have been killed in attacks by Israeli forces ever since anti-occupation protest rallies began in the Gaza Strip on March 30, 2018. Over 16,000 Palestinians have also sustained injuries.

Source: Presstv

Match fixing allegation: Nigeria demands sanction against Cameroon

13, May 2019

Match fixing allegation: Nigeria demands sanction against Cameroon 0

The Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, has made a formal request to the world basketball ruling body, FIBA demanding it take action against the Cameroon Basketball Federation.

Reason for the request is based on Cameroon’s for allegation that Nigeria fixed her game against Cote d’ Ivoire in the last window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers.

Though, FIBA through its ethics committee in a letter dated April 16 and sent to the Nigeria and Cameroon federations had thrown the case out for lack of substance, the Nigeria Basketball Federation is praying FIBA to slam Cameroon for alleging match fixing in the first place. The Fédération Camerounaise de Basket-Ball (FECABASKET) had filed a protest after failing to qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 with Cote d’ Ivoire emerging the best third placed team out of the two groups that produced Nigeria, Senegal, Angola and Tunisia. Nigeria had gone into the last window with an impressive 9-0 record and had made it clear after punching their ticket for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China that they wanted to end the qualifiers unbeaten.

Freethrow gathered that the FIBA ethics committee had looked into the mattered and resolved that Cameroon did not have any case against Nigeria.

Source: The Sun

Africa Cup of Nations: Cameroon names preliminary squad

11, May 2019

Africa Cup of Nations: Cameroon names preliminary squad 0

Defending African champions Cameroon have released their preliminary squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations Cup, with Joel Matip and Nicolas Nkoulou not included in the 34-man squad named by coach Clarence Seedorf.

Matip last played for the Indomitable Lions in September 2016, while Nkoulou has refused to honour invitations since the final against the Pharaohs two years ago, a game in which he came off the bench to score.

Two months ago, Seedorf revealed that the stay-away duo wouldn’t be begged to return, but that he wouldn’t shut the door on them featuring at the upcoming tournament.

For the first three months after assistant coach Patrick Kluivert and I signed with Cameroon, we have dedicated a lot of time to meeting and speaking with Matip and Nkoulou.

“For the first three months after assistant coach Patrick Kluivert and I signed with Cameroon, we have dedicated a lot of time to meeting and speaking with Matip and Nkoulou,” he told Goal.

“There’s been no response,” he continued, “but we have to have a deadline because we need to build a team, we cannot chase players.

“If players want to join us, they know where to find us.”

Key names Karl Toko Ekambi, Vincent Aboubakar, Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting and Andre Onana have been included in Seedorf’s shortlist, as has Christian Bassogog, the Afcon MVPwhen Cameroon won the tournament in 2017.

The five-time African champions qualified for this year’s competition with a 3-0 defeat of Comoros in March and will aim to defend their title at the biennial tournament.

Seedorf’s charges begin their title defence in Group F against Guinea-Bissau at Ismailia Stadium on June 25, before facing off with four-time champions Ghana on June 29, with their final group encounter coming against Benin on July 2.

View image on Twitter

Source: Agencies

Onana wins Dutch Cup with Ajax

6, May 2019

Onana wins Dutch Cup with Ajax 0

The African stars were on parade at Feyenoord Stadium as the Sons of Gods lifted their ninth Cup title on Sunday

Morocco duo Hakim Ziyech, Noussair Mazraoui and Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana helped Ajax win the Dutch Cup with a 4-0 win over Willem II.

Ziyech provided an assist for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to double Ajax’s lead a minute after Daley Blind opened the scoring in the 38th minute.

After the restart, Huntelaar bagged his brace in the 67th minute before Mazraoui assisted Rasmus Kristensen for the fourth goal in the 76th minute.

Ziyech was later replaced by David Neres in the 58th minute as Onana kept a clean sheet for the Amsterdam outfit.

The trio will hope to maintain their fine form when Ajax host Tottenham Hotspur for the return fixture of their Uefa Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.

Ziyech and Mazraoui are expected to play a part in Morocco’s campaign at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Atlas Lions have dates set against Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa and Namibia in Group D while Onana’s Cameroon have been drawn against Ghana, Guinea-Bissau and Benin in Group F.

Source: Goal.com

Champions League: Barca on verge of final after 3-0 win over Liverpool

2, May 2019

Champions League: Barca on verge of final after 3-0 win over Liverpool 0

Lionel Messi left Liverpool needing a miracle to reach their second Champions League final in as many years as his brace helped Barcelona win a pulsating Champions League semi-final first leg 3-0 on Wednesday.

Barca have one foot in next month’s final ahead of Tuesday’s second leg at Anfield after former Reds striker Luis Suarez gave Barca the lead during a breathless opening 45 minutes before Messi struck twice late on, the second a stunning free-kick and his 600th Barca goal.

Jurgen Klopp could only smile after Messi’s curling shot nestled in the top corner but this result was harsh on his side.

They matched Barcelona in the first half, dominated them early in the second and could still have left with an away goal after Messi’s deadly double, only for Mohamed Salah to hit the post.

But Messi and Suarez did what they have done all season, their tallies now at 47 and 27 goals respectively in all competitions.

It had been a breathtaking contest befitting two of Europe’s most exhilarating teams. The first half was electric, a reel of chances, breaks and blocks, while the second was tense, a tactical battle where Barca dared Liverpool to over-exert.

The comeback will be even tougher for them given Barcelona, with La Liga wrapped up, will surely rest a host of players against Celta Vigo this weekend while Liverpool, a point behind Premier League leaders Manchester City, will have to be at full throttle again away at Newcastle on Saturday.

Scintillating

Messi was already fresh, after playing just over half the La Liga minutes he could have done in April, and he looked sharp early on, weaving through the centre while for Liverpool, the sensational Sadio Mane raced down the left.

The attacks were scintillating but the defending was good too. Andy Robertson scrambled across to block Messi’s finish from six yards and moments later it was Sergi Roberto on the slide, preventing Mane from racing clear.

Messi wanted a penalty when the ball jumped up on Joel Matip and Naby Keita went off injured in the 25th minute, replaced by Jordan Henderson.

A minute later came the goal. Arturo Vidal sprayed the ball left to Philippe Coutinho, who cushioned back for Jordi Alba. Alba shaped to cross but instead curved a perfectly weighted pass to the near post, where Suarez nipped in.

Liverpool came again. Mane scampered in behind then flicked the ball round Sergio Busquets. He should have scored too, Henderson’s cross finding him free from eight yards but the shot flew over.

Barca took control just as Suarez began to lose it, irked by James Milner barging Messi into the sideboards after the Argentinian had danced past Robertson.

But Liverpool were re-energised at the start of the second half. Marc-Andre ter Stegen pushed away shots from Milner and Mohamed Salah, then held a Milner drive.

Then Messi took the wind out of Liverpool’s sails, striking twice in seven minutes. His own run started the first, setting Sergi free to square to Suarez. Off balance, Suarez could only volley against the crossbar but the ball came back for Messi, who chested and finished into an open net.

Two was hard on Liverpool but Messi was not done. The free-kick was central, 30 yards out, and he whipped it over the wall and into the top corner.

Barca were delirious but Liverpool almost grabbed an away goal when a clearance on the line fell kindly for Salah, who hammered against the post and left Liverpool with little hope of making the Madrid final.

(AFP)

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