Winners and Losers from Afcon Qualifiers
International football continued across Africa on Wednesday with Round 4 of the qualification matches for the 2015 Cup of Nations.
The continent’s schedule was jam-packed, with 14 games taking place within a seven-hour period.
Two sides have guaranteed their places alongside hosts Morocco in the January showpiece, while others haven’t been so lucky, with a ticket to Africa’s high table drifting a little further away.
In this feature we look back over Wednesday’s matches.
Winners: Cape Verde
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Sneaking under the radar, Cape Verde became the first side to qualify for the 2015 Cup of Nations behind hosts Morocco.
Qualification is a terrific achievement.
Admittedly, the islanders didn’t find themselves in the toughest group; Zambia have declined since winning the title in 2012 and Mozambique and Niger aren’t among the continent’s strongest sides, but they deserve credit for progressing so comfortably.
Despite losing to Mozambique at the weekend, three victories have confirmed the Sharks’ place at the high table.
It is testament to the west African side’s progression over the last few years that their qualification hasn’t generated the kind of headlines that their maiden success did.
Can the erstwhile minnows better their quarter-finals showing of 2013?
Losers: The Ivory Coast Defence
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Amazingly, no team has conceded more goals in Cup of Nations qualification than the Ivory Coast.
We knew there would be a slight trade-off in dominance when the Golden Generations took their failures off into the sunset, but we didn't expected anything quite as disastrous as this.
Despite the arrival of new boss Herve Renard, the west Africans have conceded a remarkable 10 goals in their first four games, shipping four against Cameroon and—amazingly—four against the Democratic Republic of Congo at home.
Despite scoring three of their own in the latter, the Elephants—down to 10 men after the dismissal of Franck Kessie—were shredded.
As discussed in Episode 4 of the African Football Weekly podcast, Kolo Toure, Sol Bamba and Didier Zokora have been moved on, but their replacements don’t look close to emulating their defensive contribution.
Winners: Algeria
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After Cape Verde’s success against Mozambique, Algeria welcomed Malawi to Blida knowing that a victory would also secure their spot in Morocco.
In their three previous matches under Christian Gourcuff, the Desert Foxes looked competent and organised, without being particularly devastating. They saw off Ethiopia and Mali for example, but they only did so via late winners.
In Wednesday's match, however, they really turned on the style. This was the full crystallisation of a team brimming with talent and conviction.
There’s little doubt that, at the time of writing, Algeria are firm favourites for January’s showpiece.
Losers: Senegal
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Senegal got off to a roaring start in a particularly taxing Group G. Grouped with North African pair Tunisia and Egypt, the Lions accrued maximum points from contests with the latter and minnows Botswana.
Then, however, the west Africans were taxed with a double-header against Tunisia.
The first fixture, held in Dakar, was a drab 0-0. The second, in Monastir, was similarly uneventful, but the visitors were unable to hold out.
CS Sfaxien’s Ferjani Sassi found the net in the 94th minute to ensure that the Eagles of Carthage head into Round 5 unbeaten and on 10 points.
Senegal, on the other hand, now travel to Cairo knowing that they will drop into third spot in the group if they lose to the Pharaohs.
Winners: Nigeria
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No team had disappointed quite like Nigeria in the opening three rounds of fixtures. The Super Eagles were defeated at home by the Republic of the Congo, away in Sudan and only managed a goalless stalemate with South Africa.
It was imperative, therefore, that they beat the Falcons of Jediane on their home turf.
The Super Eagles started well—manager Stephen Keshi had made a few changes to his side in order to appease the baying supporters—and took the lead through Ahmed Musa.
As was the case in their opener against Congo, however, Nigeria were pinned back almost immediately, Salah Ibrahim profiting from some uncertain Super Eagles defending.
Buoyed by the Abuja crowd, however, Nigeria fought back. They took the lead again through Aaron Samuel, making his first start, before Musa ended the contest with a fine dribble and finish late on.
There is still a great deal of work for Nigeria to do—they currently sit in third spot on four points, but victory against the Red Devils in their next match would put them right back in the mix.
